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BUENA VISTA'S PART 
IN THE WORLD WAR 



BUENA VISTA'S PART 
IN THE WORLD WAR 

ONE IOWA COUNTY'S RECORD OF 
SERVICE AND SACRIFICE 




PUBLISHED BY TOM D. EILERS 

STORM LAKE, IOWA 

1920 



Copyright, 1920, by 
T. D. Eilers 



©CU597298 
SEP -7 1520 






THE TORCH PRESS 

CEDAR RAPIDS 

IOWA 



n 



TO THE MEMORY 

OF THE 

"GOLD STARS" OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Those who in the Struggle for Civilization made the 

Supreme Sacrifice 

Whether in Field or Camp 

This Volume is Dedicated by the 

Editor and Publisher 



PUBLISHER'S ACKNO\\XEDGEMENT 

IX presenting this volume tor the approval of the citizens of Buena 
Vista County and in compliance with the promises of the long months 
in which it has heen in course of preparation, the publisher wishes 
to make gratefitl acknowledgement of the services and assistance of 
those who have contributed to whatever degree of excellence it has 
attained. 

First of all, the sul)iect matter could not ha\-e lieen made without the 
sacrifices and the glorious accomplishments of our fifteen hundred 
men who gladly enlisted for the great task of humbling the Hun. 

The pttblisher provided the organization for assembling, editing, 
and publishing the facts of the events that transpired incident to this 
county's participation in the world conflict. 

Jos. E. Morcombe, a student of national afl:'airs, has. from his wide 
range of information, heen able to contribtite interestingly to the 
volume. Much information has been available through The Stars and 
Stripes, the overseas publication. Scott H. AlcClure gave further 
assistance in the editorial work of the history. 

Acknowledgement must be made to the men of the varied training 
activities and participants in the fray of battle who, in the (juiet hours 
of reflection in post-war days, have recounted their experiences for 
the information of interested friends at home and as side-lights on the 
great events that have made this record a subject of vital interest; 
to the men who have coojjerated in i)roviding details of service records, 
thus assisting to make the volume authoritative; to the Mother's Club, 
whose members ha\-e cooperated whole-heartedly in the assembling of 
information to make the record complete; to the man\- citizens of the 
county, workers in the varied activities in support of war work, who 
have contributed the stories of the Red Cross, the Libertv Loan Organ- 
ization, the Y. M. C. A., the K. of C, etc. 

Finally, to the purchasers whose financial support of the venture has 
helped to meet the large expense incurred and who have made possible 
the presentation to families of gold-star men this volume which is 
dedicated as the tribute of the county to their sacrifices. 

T. D. EiLRRS. Publisher 



THE BOY WHO WILL NEVER RETURN^ 

There is mourning in cottage and mansion, 
There is sighing and moaning and tears, 

And hearts that are breaking with sorrow 
f Tliat will never pass on with the years. 

Yet hoping is mingled with weeping. 
And the candles of faith brightly burn 

In the homes where the mothers are praying 
For the boy who will never return. 

His chair at the table is vacant. 

His room, as he left it, is still, 
And the pictures and pennants seem waiting 

Like his father and mdther, until 
Their laddie comes back up the roadway. 

And, oh ! how their hearts for him yearn, 
But, alas! in his grave he is sleeping — 

He is one who will never return. 

His clothing, sent back from the army, 

Is tenderly laid on his bed. 
Where his mother's fond fingers caress them 

As she kneels down to pray for her dead. 
God be good to those mothers and fathers 

At the limit of agony's bourne ; 
Give repose to the soul of their loved one, 

The bov who will never return. 

His service flag hangs in the window, 

A gold star instead of the blue. 
Mute sign of a soldier's devotion. 

Which a fond mother's tears will bedew 
As she folds it away in the Bible, 

Whose promise again she will learn 
That in heaven some day she will meet him — 

Her boy — who will never return. 

1 Written and published by John F. Dalton, editor Manson, Iowa, Dcmocval, December, 
1918. 



EDITORIAL FOREWORD 

CAL or coniniunit} liistury is seldom considered at its true value. 
The national or general record is given attention to exclusion of 
the priniarv but less pretentious sources of information. Yet it 
is from the latter, with their intimate details, that the truest knowledge 
of a particular time or people is to be gathered. If one can understand 
the sentiments and thoroughly comprehend the activities of a typical 
communitv, during an}- important or critical period, he will be better 
able to estimate the forces involved, and the motives that have impelled 
or sustained national action. Thus it has seemed that the war activi- 
ties of this essentiall}- rural county of northwestern Iowa is deserving 
of record, as being truly representative of the life of the common- 
wealth and of the nation during the late eventful years. Such a county 
is more truly American in its life and in its ideals than are the con- 
gested centers of population. In them the life is more complex, the 
currents and cross-currents are confusing, and there are elements 
alien and even hostile to real Americanism. To put down in perma- 
nent form, with such acciu-acy and completeness as is possible, the 
story of Buena \^ista's part in the great war, is therefore, a work that, 
if fairly well done, will be of lasting benefit. 

In preparation of the present volume there has been no intrusion of 
the commercial idea. The dominant thought is that the record of 
every man and woman, having- any part in war work, should be dili- 
gently sought out, verified, and given place. The only honor is that of 
efifort and accomplishment. Between those who have served there can 
be no distinction. There has been no tax upon any for full inclusion 
of what the}' ha\'e done ; no mone^' suflicient to buy space beyond what 
is justified by the open record. The intention of the editor and the 
publisher is that the volume shall comi)letelv co^'er the field; that no 
phase of the diversified war work shall be neglected, and that for time 
to corne the book shall be accepted as adequatelv presenting- the more 
than creditable labors of the people of Buena \"ista County. 

The compiler in this can lay no claim to authorship. The ability to 
write in such a task is of less importance than the having patience to 
seek out details, to overcome the indifl:'erence or the modesty of some, 
and to insure a painstaking accuracv throughout the volume. 



GOLD STARS 



Honor Roll of Buena Vista County 



GOLD STARS 



ANDERSON, W. H. 
Iilnn Grove 

Born July 17. 1886. Enl. January. 1H18. 
Pvt. Signal Corps. Aviation Section. Trained: 
Jefferson Barrack.s. Died at Jefferson Bar- 
racl<s. March 24. 1918. Buried at Havanah. 
North Dalvota. 

ANTONSEN, JOHN I,. 
Maple Valley Township 

Enl. May 13. IHIS. I'vt. Co. 1). I(l2d Inf. 
26th Div. Trained: Jefferson Barracks; to 
Waco, Texas; to Camp Merrit. Sailed August 
18 from New York; landed Brest August 25. 
^\'as with Co. K, 55th Inf. one week; to camp 
in interior of France; transferred to 102nd 
Regt.. 26th Div. August 31; September 4 to 
front lines; hiked every night for a week to 
reach front lines; at St Mihiel September 10; 
into action at 8 a. m. September 12. To Ver- 
dun October 22. Killed in action (October 24. 

BENGSTON, GOTTFRIED 

Albert City 
Born September 8, 1891. Enl. February 25. 
1918. Pvt. Co. E, 351st Inf. 88th Div. Trained 
Camp Dodge. Died at Camp Dodge May 1. 
1918. of pneumonia. Buried at Faii-field Town- 
ship Cemetery. Albert City. Iowa. 

BRAZEI., JOHN F. 

Sioux Rapids 

Born April 19. 1888. Enl. April 9. 1917. Fire- 
man 2d cl., on U. S. S. Montana. Trained: 
G. L. N. T. S.; on Montana patroling coast 
of Atlantic. Promoted from fireman 3d cl. to 
fireman 2d cl. Died on Hospital Ship at Nor- 
folk, Va., July 21, 1918. Buried in Lone Tree 
Cemetery, Sioux Rapids, Iowa. 

BRIGHT, CIiATTDE I.EANDER 

Sioux Rapids 

Born January 13, 1895. Enl. April 27, 1918. 

Pvt. Co. B, 307th Inf. 90th Div. Trained: 

Camp Dodge; at Camp Travis; to Camp Mills. 



Sailed from New York June 19; ship had to put 
in at Halifax for ten days; sailed again July 4; 
landed Liverpool. July 15. To rest camp at 
Winchester; to Argonne at Bar-le-Duc four 
weeks. Went to St. Mihiel; over top Septem- 
ber 12. facing heavy artillery fire, under fire 
sixty days without relief; to Argonne Forest; 
wounded October 25 at 3:30 a. m. and removed 
from field at 9:00 p. m. of the 26th; to hospital; 
died November 2. Buried in France. Pvt. 
Bright was given the honor of being one of 
the best in his organization in bayonet drill 
and rifle range practice; he was commanding 
the company when wounded and was scheduled 
for jiromotion to corporal; out of 250 men in 
his company only 50 were left at the time of 
the armistice. He was wounded in shoulders, 
both arms, and right side. 

BY AM, OI.IVER F. 
I^ee Township 

Born August 14, 1895. Enl. June 25. 1916. 
2d Lieut., Instructor in 146th M. C. Bn.; with 
7th Inf. 3d Div. at time of death. Trained; 
with 2d Idaho X. G., 2d Idaho Inf., Gooding. 
Idaho — not assigned — on border duty from July 
1916 to January 25, 1917; enlisted in regular 
army August 5, 1917; promoted to Sgt. April 26, 
1917; to 2d Lieutenant, October, 1917; to 
ogden, Utah; to Boise, Idaho; to Camp Greene; 
to Camp Mills; to Camp Merritt. Sailed Janu- 
ary 8. 1918; Landed in France. Instructor in 
146th Machine Gun Bn. at Selles-sur-Cher until 
September 1. Killed in Argonne Forest while 
with the 7th Inf. 3d Div. at Cunel, October 20, 
1918. Buried on battlefield, Cunel. Lieut. 
Byam was cited as follows; For extraordinary 
heroism in action near Cunel Heights, France, 
October 11, 1919. Upon his own initiative 
Lieut. Byam moved his machine gun platoon 
through heavy artillery and machinegun fire 
400 meters in advance of the front line and 
from there opened fire on the enemy, who was 
holding our advance, displaying exceptional 
bravery in holding this position against several 
hostile attacks. This officer was later killed by 
machine gun flre while leading a patrol against 
the enemy's line. 



GOLD STARS 




W. H. Anderson 
Linn Grove 



J'Min L. Aiitonsen 
I\I;iple Vall.\- Township 




tlottfried Bengston 
Albert City 



John F. UrazL-l 
Sioux Rapids 



GOLD STARS 




Claude Leander Bright 
Sioux Rapids 



Oliver P. Byam 
Lee Township 




Jesse dais 
Lincoln Township 



Herbert E. Danielson 
Washing-ton Township 



iS 



GOLD STARS 



CRAIG, JESSS 

Iiincoln Township 

Born August 13. 1899. Enl. Dec. 16. 1918. 
Fireman in Merchant Marine. Trained: on 
the V. S. S. Meade at East Boston. Died in 
hospital at Chelsea, Mas.sachusetts. December 
18, 1918. Buried at Sioux Rapids, Iowa. 

DANIEI.SON, HERBEBT E. 

Washington Township 

Born March 10. 1896. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Corp. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained; Camp 
Gordon five weel<s. Sailed September 1, 1918. 
Was in France only a short time before he was 
taken to a hospital and died Nov. 7, 1918. 

DOMEIER, Alljert 

Sioux Rapids 

Born Oct. 3. 1892. Enl. July 30. 1918. Pvt. 
Co. F, 212th Engrs. Trained: Camp Forrest 
until August 20; at Camp Devens until Septem- 
ber 29. Died, September 28, 1918, at Camp 
Devens of Spanish influenza and pneumonia. 
Buried in Lone Tree Cemetery near Sioux 
Rapids, Iowa. 



FI.ETCHER, CAI.VIN 

Providence Township 

Born .\pril 22, 1895. Enl. July 10, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. 14, 4th Bn. 163d D. B. Trained; Camp 
Dodge. Died of Spanish influenza at Camp 
Dodge October 11, 1918. Buried at Storm Lalie. 
(drew up in home of J. H. Rubin. Had not 
lived in county for several years, and while 
tliere might be soine question as to whether he 
properly belongs in Buena Vist County it is 
not probable that he would be listed in any 
other county). 



GRABBER, FRANK FRED 

Sioux Rapids 

Born November 27, 1892. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained: Camp 
Gordon; to Camp Merritt. Sailed August 30, 
1918 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed Brest 
September 12. Sent to front on Meuse-Ar- 
gonne: was in attacls on Hill 378, strucli by 
shrapnel and instantly killed November 7, 1918. 



DYVAD, CARI. C. 

Albert City 

Born September 6, 1888. Enl. September 10. 
1916. Pvt. Co. M, I. N. G., later made Co. M. 
168th Inf. 42d Div. Trained: Served on Mexi- 
can border during winter 1916-17; entrained at 
Cherokee August 17, 1917 for State Fair 
Grounds; Sept. 10 to Camp Mills. Embarked 
October 18 on U. S. S. President Grant; re- 
turned to port and sailed again November 14 on 
the Celtic; landed Liverpool Nov. 25. To Le 
Harve December 2. To Rimaucourt February 1; 
to Baccarat Sector, Alsace-Lorraine, March 9, 
wounded in left hand and in same month 
burned by liquid flre while raiding a German 
trench; June 15 to Champagne; to Chateau- 
Thierry July 24. Killed in Battle of Sergy at 
Hill 212, July 28, while trying to capture a 
machine gun nest. Buried one-quarter kilo- 
meter north of Sergy, Grave No. 47-C. map of 
Fere- en-Tar deno is. 



GREENFIEIiS, IiESXiIE AMBROSE 

Alta 

Born March 9, 1889. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained: Camp 
Gordon; to Camp Merritt. Was overseas only 
ten days when he died of lobar pneumonia. 
Entered hospital September 19; died September 
23, 1918. Buried in Karfantras Cemetery, near 
Brest. 



GROTE, emu; 

Sioux Rapids 

Born March 16. 1893. Enl. September 6, 1918. 
Pvt. U. S. A. Trained: Camp Dodge. Con- 
tracted Spanisli influenza October 8. Died at 
Base Hosp. at Camp Dodge October 16, 1918. 
Buried at Lohrville, Iowa. 



ENGIiEDOVr, JOHN H. 

Stomi Iiake 

Born May 13, 1888. Pvt Co. M, 161st Regt. 
41st Div. Trained; Camp Dodge; at Camp 
Cody. Sailed to France. On return to U. S. 
was sent to Debarkation Hospital No. 1, Ellis 
Island; to U. S. Gen. Hosp. Ft. Bayard. Died 
January 27, 1919. Buried at Fonda, Iowa. 



HANKE, JAMES E. F. 

Born April 4. 1890. Knl. June 26, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. E, No. 1 Development Bn. Inf. Trained: 
Camp Dodge. Sent to hospital at Camp Dodge 
November 11 with influenza. Died November 
13 of pneumonia. 



GOLD STARS 




Albert Domeier 
Sioux Rapids 




Carl C. Dvvad 
Albert City 








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John H. Engledow 
Storm Lake 



Frank Fred Graeber 
Sioux Rapids 



GOLD STARS 




Lfslie Ambrose Gret'iifk'ld 
Alta 



Emil Grote 
Sioux Rapids 




James E. F. Hanke 
Newell 



Carl A. Haroldsen 
Rembrandt 



GOLD STARS 



21 



HABOI.DSOM, CABI. A. 

Rembrandt 

Born July 12, 1892. Enl. May 25, 1917. Pvt. 
1st el. Co. B, 5th Engr.s. Trained: Ft. Logan; 
at El Paso: at Corpus Christ! ; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed for France July 31: landed Brest August 
12. To Pone-en-Nessen Barracks for five days; 
to Aisy-Amoncon-Yonne si.x weeks: to Chalig- 
ney; to front lines; to St. Mihiel sector Sep- 
tember 26; to Minorville two weeks; to front at 
Puvenille Woods October 9 to November 10; to 
Thiaucourt until killed. Killed while removing 
German mines November 20, 1918. Buried at 
Thiaucourt. France. 



HARTMAN, EDWARD E. 
Marathon 

Born November 1. 1887. Enl. May 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. H, 352d Inf. 88th Div. Trained: Camp 
Dodge from May 24 to Aug 25. Sailed from 
Camp Mills September 2, 1918. Was in hospital 
five days and died with pneumonia October 15. 
1918. Buried in France. 



RINTZ, CHARI-ES A. 
Washington Township 
Born July 22, 1890. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. E, 316th Regt. 79th Div. Trained: Camp 
Gordon; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from New 
York August 30 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed 
Brest September 12. To St. George: to Mon- 
therand, where he joined company specified 
above on the Verdun front, going into action 
October 26; participated in the capture of Hill 
378. going over the top November 4: wounded 
in the arms by machine-gun bullets: sent 
to Base Hosp. No. 83. where he died December 
4. 1918. Buried at Revigny, France. His com- 
manding officer wrote of him: 'He was every 
inch an American and acquitted himself fear- 
lessly in what became his first and last battle." 

KUMFKREY, JOHN !■. 
Storm liake 
Born October 1, 1895. Enl. July 27. 1917. 
Corp. Co. E, 16th Inf. 1st Div. Trained: Co. 
P. Montana N. G. at Glendive, Montana: to 
Helenato train; to Butte to guard the I. W. W. 
August 3 to October, 1917; entrained for Camp 
Mills, there six weeks training selective service 
men; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from New York 
December 15; landed Liverpool. To Win- 
chester; to Southampton; to Le Havre. Trans- 
ferred to Co. E, 16th Inf 1st Div.: to front; 
gassed twice and wounded once; returned to 
front. Killed in action July 18, 1918. Given 
posthumous decoration of Croix de Guerre by 
Marshal Foch, announced No^'ember. 1919; cita- 



tion: "He gave evidence of the greatest 
bravery in all of the conflict and showed the 
finest loyalty to his comrades." 

HAMS, SETH G. 
Providence Township 

Born August 2. 1894. Enl. July 22. 1918. Pvt. 
Co. A. Trained: Camp Funston. Died at 
Camp Funston January 20, 1919; buried Janu- 
ary 23 at Warsaw. Missouri. 

JENSEN, EMU. 

Ne'well 
Born March 3, 1896. Enl. September 20. 1917. 
Pvt. (Sharpshooter), Co. F, 18th Inf. 1st Div. 
Trained: Camp Dodge; at Camp Pike; to 
Camp Merritt. Sailed July 1, 1918. Sent to 
Meuse-Argonne offensive October 1, 1918; to 
hospital. Died of pneumonia in A. E. F. 
hospital. 

JOHNSON, I.ARS 
Iiee Township 
Born September 22, 1893. Enl. September 19, 

1918. Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained: Dunwoody 
Institute. Died of Spanish influenza October 
7. 1918. Buried in Lone Tree Cemetery, Sioux 
Rapids. Iowa. 

KAUFMAN, BENJAMIN 
Iiincoln Township 
Born May 30, 1893. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. B, 136th Inf. 79th Div. Trained: Camp 
Gordon. Killed in action November 7. 1918. 
Buried in American Battle Area Cemetery, 
Commune of Revelle Meuse, France. 

KESTEI., HENRY 

Maple Valley Township 
Born November 15. 1895. Enl. June 26, 1918. 
Pvt. M. G. Co. 350th Mch. Gunners, 88th Div. 
Trained: Camp Dodge. Transferred to Signal 
Corps after arrival in France. Died of bron- 
chial pneuiTionia. ^^'as sick in hospital at Bel- 
fort. Died in Base Hosp. No. 27 S. O. S. No- 
vember. 16. Buried at Angers, France. 

XRVSE, HENRY W. 
Iiincoln Township 

Born May 10, 1892. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. M, 163rd Inf. 41st Div. Trained: Camp 
Gordon; to Camp Merritt. Sailed September 
1; landed Brest September 10. Landed U. S. 
January 18. 1919, from U. S. S. Houston. To 
Camp Merritt; to Camp Funston; taken sick 
January 29; transferred to Base Hosp. at Ft. 
Riley. Died of spinal meningitis February 12, 

1919. Buried at German Lutheran Cemetery, 
Grant Township. February 17, 1919. 



CxOLD STARS 




Haroldsfii's Gra\'e ill France 



Edward E. Hartman 
Marathon 





.•i 



Joliii L. Hiimplirey 
Storm Lake 



L'harKs A. Hiiitz 
Washington Township 



GOLD STARS 




Seth G. Tiams 
Providence Township 



lilllll .Il-llSc'll 

Ne\\'ell 




Lars Johnson 
Lee Township 



Benjamin Kaufman 
Lincoln Township 



24 



GOLD STARS 



I.ARSON, NEI-S F. 
Elk Township 

Born August 20. 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. G, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained: Camp 
Gordon three weeks; to Camp Merritt. Landed 
Prance September 12. To St. George; to front 
lines October 20. Killed in action November 9. 
1918. Buried in cemetery in Commune of Gib- 
ercy, Meuse, France. 

LOE, RAYMOND H. 

Iiinn Grove 
Born August 24. 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B. 214th Engrs. Trained: Camp 
Forrest. Died in service October 15, 1918. 

I.YDEI.II, DAVID G. 

Rembrandt 
Born April 16. 1892. Enl. July 20, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained; Camp Gor- 
don. Sailed to France, after twenty days of 
training at Camp Gordon; landed Brest. Died 
of pneumonia September 27, 1918. 

MARTZ, GEORGE H. 

Stomi Iiake 
Born May 2, 18!i5. Enl May 13, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. I, 102d Regt. 26th Div, Trained: Jeffer- 
son Barracks; at Camp McArthur; to Camp 
Merritt. Sailed from Camp Merritt on U. S. S. 
Leviathan August 18; landed Brest August 25, 
with 55th Regt. 7th Div. To rest camp one 
week; to interior of France, transferred to Co. 
I. 102d Regt. 26th Div. August 31; September 
4th began hike to front at St. Mihiel; at St. 
Mihiel September 10; into action September 
12, 8:00 a. m., against Austro-Hungarian troops, 
captured Hills Les Eparges. Combres. and 
Amaranthe, and the villages of St. Remy and 
Domartin; moved into city of Verdun October 
22, billeted in ruined buildings of city; into 
front lines a few miles north of Verdun October 
27. Killed in action October 28. Buried in 
A. E. F. Cemetery at Loriecy, Meuse, France. 

IVIIKKEI.SON, I.OUIS C. 
Newell 

Born July 10. 1892. Enl. April 24. 1918. Pvt. 
Co. C, 357th Inf. 90th Div. Trained; Camp 
Dodge; at Camp Travis. Sailed June 10; landed 
Liverpool. To Brest; to Toul; to St. Mihiel. 
Killed in action September 12, 1918. Captain 
Wood wrote of him: "A braver soldier and 
finer man was hard to find. He was a credit 
to his company and to the country to which he 
gave his life." 

McFADDEN, I.EO F. 

Frovidence Township 
Born December 20, 1894. Enl. May 30, 1917. 
Pvt. 1st cl.. Motor Platoon, Hdq. Co. 168th 



Regt. 4 2d Div. Trained; Cherokee, Iowa; to 
State Fair Grounds; to Camp Mills. Sailed 
from Hoboken October 18 on U. S. S. 
President Grant; returned October 28 for re- 
pairs; sailed again November 14 on R. M. S. 
Aurania; landed Liverpool December 1. To 
Winchester; to Southampton; to Le Harve. To 
Rimacourt; to Lorraine; to Baccarat sector 
February 26 to June 19; to Champagne sector 
July 4 to 20; to Chateau-Thierry July 25 to 
August 5; to St. Mihiel September 12 to 26; to 
Argonne October 12. Killed by a fragment of 
high-explosive shell October 14. Buried at 
Kremhilde-Stellung 200 yards east of Arietal 
Farm; removed to American Cemetery, Exer- 
mont, Ardennes, France. Chaplain Winfred E. 
Robb wrote to Mr. and Mrs. John McFadden, 
under date of November 27, 1918: "As chaplain 
of the 168th Inf. I am writing you with 
deepest sympathy concerning the death of your 
son. He was instantly killed by enemy shell 
fire while advancing with his platoon, and was 
buried by me near the place of his death. You 
are no doubt very proud of Leo and you have 
every reason to be. Although he made the 
supreme sacrifice he made it for the greatest 
cause and shall receive his just reward from 
Him we all love and trust. Leo was always 
ready to do more than his share of work." 



NIEI.SEN, CHARI.es 
Newell 

Born August 2, 1890. Enl. July 24. 1918. Pvt. 
Co. F., 316th Inf., 79th Div. Trained: Camp 
Gordon in Co, E, 316th Inf. 79th Div.; to 
Camp Merritt. Sailed from New York August 
30 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed Brest, Sep- 
tember 12. To St. George; in Co. M, 163d 
Inf. 1st Div.; to Verdun; to Genicourt Octo- 
ber 25, assigned to Co. F, 316th Inf, 79th 
Div.; to front lines October 29; November 2. at 
night, took part in a raid on the German lines 
and was severely gassed, got back to lines of 
dugouts, where he was found dead the next 
morning. Died November 3. 1918. Buried in 
Argonne-Meuse Cemetery. 



OI.SEN OI.AF S. 
Scott Township 

Born February 26, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. I, 163d Inf. Replm. Regt. Trained: 
Camp Gordon until August 24; to Camp Mer- 
ritt. Sailed from New York on U. S. S. Platts- 
burg September 1; landed Brest September 12. 
To front at Bouguen. Killed September 28, 
1918. The dugout in which Olsen was sta- 
tioned was crowded and Olsen was outside ly- 
ing in the sun when a piece of shrapnel struck 
him directly on the head. Buried in cemetery 
at St. Aignan-Noyesn. Loire-et Cher, France. 



GOLD STARS 




Henry Kestel 
Mapln Vall.-\- T.-iwnsli 



Henr>' \\'. Krusc 
Lincoln Township 




Nels P. Larson 
Ellc Townsliip 



Raymond H. Loe 
Linn Grove 



GOLD STARS 





David G. Lydell 
Rembrandt 



Gfuiye H. Martz 
Storm Lake 





h> 



Louis C. Mikkelson 
Newell 



Storm Lake 



GOLD STARS 



-/ 



PETERSON, MARVIN EI.BERT 
Barnes To'wnslup 
Born Xov. 29, 1892. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. L, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained: Camp 
Gordon. Sailed August 25 on U. S. S. Platts- 
burg: landed Brest September 12. To Camp 
Georges for training: to Verdun Oct. 13; to 
the front October 24; took active part in 
Meuse-Argonne offensive until armistice was 
signed. Died of disease caused by exposure 
November IS. 1918. Buried near Etraye. 
France, November 20, 1918. 

FIERSON. mANFORD C. 

Albert City 
Born January 4, 1887. Enl. May 19, 1918. 
Yeoman, Radio Service. Trained: G. L. N. T. 
S.. in Co. F, 7th Regt. Taken sick with influ- 
enza which later developed into pneumonia. 
Died October 22, 1918. Buried at Mediapolis. 
Iowa, in the famil.v lot. Commended by Cap- 
tain of the U. S. Xavy Commandant: "Yeo- 
man Pierson had a very satisfactory record 
in every particular and gave promise of be- 
ing a useful and valuable member of the 
naval service who would acquit himself credit- 
ably of any duty or responsibility with which 
he might be entrusted." 

FI.OG, ntARTIN WHiIilAM J. 
Maple Valley Township 
Born April 28, 1895. Enl. July 24. 1918. Pvt. 
Co. M, lG3d Inf. 79th Div. Trained: Camp 
Gordon five weeks in Co. A, 4th Replm. Regt.; 
to Camp Merritt. Sailed on U. S. S. Plattsburg. 
Transferred in France to Co. M, 163d Inf. 79th 
Div.; took sick about November 14; sent to 
Evac. Hosp. No. 8. Died in Base Hosp. No. 
54 December 12 at 7:40 p. m. Buried at 
Mesves-Nievre. Grave No. 572 in A. E. F. Ceme- 
tery No. 86 on December 14, 1918. 



Cherokee. Iowa; to Jlexican border winter of 
1916-17 at Brownsville, Texas; at State Fair 
Grounds; to Camp Mills, September 10, 1917. 
Sailed from New York on U. S. S. President 
Grant October 18; returned to port October 
28; sailed again November 14 on Celtic; landed 
Liverpool. To Southampton; to Le Havre. To 
Rimacourt; to Langres; to Baccarat; into ac- 
tion February 22; cited for bravery March 9, 
"For penetrating the enemy line and destroy- 
ing enemy shelter"; to Lorraine front in 
Luneville sector; to Champagne July 3 to 
18; Chateau Thierry July 22. Killed in action 
by machine-gun bullet July 31, 1918. Buried in 
American Cemetery at Ainveile, after being re- 
moved from Serg.v. 



SMITH, GUiBERT G. 

Sioux Rapids 
Died at Naval Hosp. Ft. Lyons. Colo., No- 
vember 26. 1919. (Additional information and 
photograph will be found under "Service 
Records"). 

SMITH, FRED W. 

Nokomis Township 
Born October 30, 1893. Knl. September 20, 
1917. Pvt. Co. H, 26th Inf. 1st Div. Trained: 
Camp Dodge in Co. A, 350th Inf. 88th Div.; to 
Camp Pike latter part of October; to Camp 
Merritt. Sailed June 10; landed Liverpool July 
1. To Le Havre July 4; to Soissons, where 
he joined the 1st Div. July 19; at Soissons 
July 19 to 23; in St. Mihiel offensive September 
12 to 13; at Verdun front September 21 to 
30; to Argonne-Meuse offensive October 1 to 12; 
to Vavincourt Rest Area October 16 to Novem- 
ber 2; to front lines at Romagne until Novem- 
ber 5; November 6 in forced march on Sedan. 
Killed in action November 6 near Chemery, 
France. 



REDENBAUGH, DANNIE 
Storm Iiake 

Born July 7, 1894. Enl. July 24. 1918. Pvt. 
Co. A, 304th M. P. Trained: Camp Gordon; to 
Camp Merritt. Sailed from New York August 
30, on U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed Brest Sep- 
tember 14. To Verdun sector October 23 to 
November 11, shell-shocked and sent to Base 
Hospital No. 25. Died at 12:15 p. m. Novem- 
ber 11, 1918. Buried in American Military 
Cemetery, AUerey-Aone-et-Loire, France. 

SCRAEFFER, HAROIiD 

Storm Iiake 
Born September 10, 1896. Enl. June 30, 1916. 
Corp. Co. M. 168th Inf. 42d Div. Trained: 



SMITH, PETER 
Coon Township 

Born October 19 1887. Enl July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. G, 313th Inf. 79th Div. Trained: 
Camp Gordon until August 25. Sailed from 
Hoboken September 1 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; 
landed Brest September 12. To St. Georges 
September 16 to 30; to Verdun October 28; in 
Meuse sector, Verdun front offensive November 
4 to 9; wounded by high-explosive shell in hip 
November 9 in Argonne-Meuse offensive. Died 
on way to hospital. Buried in Grave No. 32, 
Row 90, Freeh Cemetery at Glorieux, near 
Verdun, France. John Blucker, Captain 313th 
Inf. Co. G, U. S. A. wrote: "The taking of 
Hill 378 is considered one of the hardest that 
the 79th Div. was in." 



GOLD STARS 




Charles Nielson 
Newell 



Olaf S. Olsen 

Sf-ott T■■^^■!l'-■l'i^ 





Marvin Elbert Peterson 
Barnes Township 



Manford C. Pierson 
Albert City 



GOLD STARS 




Martin William J. Plog 
Maple Valley Township 



Dannie Redenbaugli 
Storm [jake 





Harold Schaeffer 
Storm Lake 



Fred W. Smith 
Nokomis Township 



30 



GOLD STARS 



SOATMER, HERBERT 

Storm liake 

Born November 10. 1894. Enl. July 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, 316th Regt. 79th Div. Trained: 
Camp Gordon three weeks; to Camp Merritt. 
Landed France September 12. To St. Georges; 
to front lines October 20; wounded severely 
November 9. in Argonne battle. Died Novem- 
ber 10, 1918. Widow; Mrs. Herbert Sommer, 
Webb, Iowa. 



TAYI.OR, rLO IVAN 

Storm Iiake 

Born April 28. 1885. Enl. April, 1917, in 
Lieut. 350th Regt. Engrs. Reserve Corps. 
Trained: Ft. Leavenworth one montli; special 
training in New Yorlj and Washington. D. C; 
to Camp Lee. Commissioned July, 1917. in 
charge of Engineer Sub-Depot No. 409; in First 
Officers' Training Camp, entered from Purdue 
Univ. Died following apparently minor opera- 
tion on nose of cerebral meningitis at Base 
Hosp. Camp Lee on January 25. 1918. Buried at 
Petersburg. Va.. in Blaudford Cemetery. 



Pilve January 21, 1919. Buried at Ingraham, 111. 
Corp. Tolliver was married, and came to Buena 
Vista County in 1916. 



TOOMBS, FERRY I.. 

Newell 

Born January 19, 1890. Enl. September 21, 

1917. Pvt Co. P, 39th Inf. 20th Div. Trained: 
Camp Dodge; at Camp Pike; at Camp Green; 
to Camp Mills. Killed in action September 27, 

1918. Buried in American Cemetery. Brinville- 
.sur-Meuse, Commune of Brinville-Meuse, 
France. 



WEST, I,ESI.IE EARI, 

Albert City 

Born December 24, 1896. Enl. September 7, 
1918. Pvt. Inf. Trained: Camp Dodge. Took 
sick with influenza October 2, 1918; taken to 
Base .Hospital; influenza developed into tuber- 
culosis. Died November 6, 1918. Buried Storm 
Lake, Iowa, November 12, 1918. 



THOMSEN, OTTO 

Ne'^ell 

Born April 28, 1891. Enl. July 24. 1918. Pvt. 
Co. E, 54th Pioneer Inf. Trained: Camp 
Wadsworth until August 17; at Camp Stewart. 
Sailed August 29; landed Brest September 12. 
Entrained for front September 22; arrived 
Steury-sur-Aire September 23; night hike to 
Clermont Woods September 24; September 25 
in hospital. Died of pneumonia in Lauilly Hos- 
pital October 5, 1918. 



TOI.I.IVER, OTIS 

Storm Iiake 

Born September 7. 1894. Enl. September 21, 
1917. Corp. Co. 1, 347th Inf. 87th Div. Trained; 
Camp Dodge; at Camp Pike; to Camp Dix. 
Sailed August 22; landed Liverpool. To Lon- 
don; to Soutliampton; to Cherbourg September 
17. To Tours; to Tels; to Romoranton; to 
Brest. Sailed December 24; landed New York 
December 30. To Camp Merritt; to Camp 
Pike January 9. Died of influenza at Camp 



YOUNIE, ARTHUR M. 

Maple Valley Township 

Born January 31. 1887. Enl. February 25, 
1918. Pvt. Batt. F, 77th Div, Trained: Camp 
Dodge; at Camp Upton. Sailed for France 
April 28; landed May 14 in France. Was taken 
sick and died of bronchial pneumonia February 
13. 1919. 



YOUNIE, HOWARD W. 

Maple Valley Township 

Born February 1, 1889. Enl. July 24, 1918, 
Pvt. Co. E. 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained: 
Camp Gordon one month; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed from New York on \J. S. S. Plattsburg 
August 30; landed Brest, September 12. To St. 
George; to Verdun; to Genicourt October 25; 
assigned to 316th Regt. in front lines October 
25; over the top November 3; assisted in the 
capture of Hill 378; November 10 attacked hill 
at Danvillers and was severely wounded — shot 
through the kidneys. Died at 2:00 a. m., 
November 11, 1918. 



GOLD STARS 




Peter Smith 
Coon Township 



Herbert Sommer 
Storm Lake 




■^ 



«- 



Ilo Ivan Taylor 
Storm Lake 





Otto Tliomsen 
Newell 



GOLD STARS 




Otis Tolliver 
Storm Lake 



I*err.\' Tj, Tnouibs 
Newell 




Leslie Earl West 
Albert City 



GOLD STARS 




Howard W. Younie 
Maple Valley Township 



Arthur M. Younie 
Maple Valley Townsliip 



Honor Roll of Buena Vista County 



ADOI.FHSON, AXEI. EDWARD 
Coon Township 
Born March 18, 1890. Enl. July 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 4th Inf. Regt. Trained at Camp 
Gordon; transferred, on December 3, to 107th 
Ordnance Depot Co. Promoted to Company 
Mechanic. Mustered out March 31, 1919. 

AITKEN, WIIiIiIAM GIiENDENNING- 
Storm Iiake 

Born November 11, 1S'.I2. Enl. May 12, 1917. 
First lieut. Mach Gun Co., 26th Reg., 1st Dlv. 
Com. 2d lieut. August 15, 1917; promoted to 
1st lieut. October 26, 1918. Trained at Fort 
Snelling; in Third British Army Inf. School at 
Auxi-le-Chateau, British Gen. Headquarter.s; 
and at Small Arms and Mach. Gun School at 
Camiers. Sailed from New Jersey, August 29, 
1917; landed Liverpool. Le Havre, France, Sep- 
tember 16. At Third British Army Inf. School. 
Auxi-le-Chateau, September 26 to October 30; 
assigned to 26th Infantry, November 10 — de- 
tached service; at British Mach. Gun School 
from December 1 to December 25; taken sick in 
British Gen. Hosp, No. 20 at Camiers on 
December 26, 1917 to February 24, 1918; re- 
joined regiment at Bouconville. March 10, 
1918; left Toul sector on April 2 for Picardy; 
in Montdidier sector from April 16 to July 6; at 
Soissons July 16 to July 26; at Pont-a-Mous- 
son July 30 to August 20; at St. Mihlel Sep- 
tember 6 to 18; in Verdun area September 21 
to 30; in Argonne from September 31 to Octo- 
ber 4, until severely wounded in start of sec- 
ond phase of battle of the Argonne near Hill 
272, southeast of Fleville, on October 4; in 
base hosp. No. 44 at Pouques-Lormes from 
October 8 to November 24; discharged from 
hosp. on December 30, 1918; to Blois; to 
Angers, to Brest. Sailed for the United 
States from Brest on January 13, 1919. Dis- 
charged at Camp Dix, January 25, 1919. 

AI.BRECHSON, AI.BERT 

Ne-weU 

Born March 6, 1893. Enl. March 6. 1918. 
Pvt. in Co. K, 59th Regt., 4th Div. Trained 
at Camp Greene. Sailed on U. S. S. Olympia, 
May 5, 1918; landed Southampton, May 13. 
To Liverpool; to Dover; to Calais. France. 
Trained with the British for six weeks at 
Samer; to Chateau Thierry from July 19 to 
August 7, in continual fighting; to Velie 
from August 7 to 12; fighting for five days on 
the Vesle river; after short training-period 



was sent to Toul sector for six days; on trench 
outpost duty after September 1; from Septem- 
ber 7 to 17 at St. Mihiel — continual fighting, 
was in capture of one town; to Argonne from 
September 26 to October 16, continual fight- 
ing; wounded by shrapnel in foot in Argonne, 
October 6, and sent to field hosp., but joined 
his Co. on October 10; was in reserve at 
Metz when armistice was signed. Started for 
Germany; served at Bremen and Coblenz; left 
for Brest July 24. Sailed from Brest on 
LT. S. S. Texan; landed at Norfolk, August 
5, 1919. Mustered out August 11, 1919. 

ai;fzbs, chari,es i.. 

Coon Township 
Born October 10, 1895. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. in Co. M, 316th Inf., 79th Div. Trained 
Camp Gordon; to Camp Merritt, August 25. 
Left September 1, in 27th Replm. Co.; landed 
at Liverpool September 14. To Le Havre, 
France. To St. Georges; left St. Georges on 
October 7, for the front at Verdun; remained 
at Verdun until wounded in head and right 
shoulder on November 10. Sailed on Christ- 
mas day for the United States. Mustered out 
April 22, 1919. 

AI.FI:RS, ERNEST C. 
Coon Township 

Born October 19. 1889. Enl. April 24, 1918. 
Pvt. 1st cl.. Medical Corps. 14th Infantry. 
Trained at Camp Dodge until December 1; 
ordered to Camp Grant. Mustered out at 
Camp Grant, May 13, 1919. 

AI.FERS, WII.i;lAM J. 
Coon Township 

Born August 17, 1887. Enl. February 
25, 1918. Pvt. Co. E, 132d Inf., 33d Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge until April 15; to 
Camp Logan until May 7. Sailed from New 
York. May 15. on transport Mount Vernon; 
landed at Brest. May 24. Moved to Abbeville. 
June 9; to Amiens sector. June 29 to August 
23; to Trouville-en-Barrois in Toul sector. 
August 26; moved to Verdun sector. Septem- 
ber 6; engaged in Meuse-Argonne offensive, 
September 26 to November 11; moved to Lux- 
emburg December 1; stationed there until 
March 1. 1919; moved to Brest. Sailed from 
Brest for the United States. May 9, on the 
transport Mount Vernon; landed at New 
York. May 17. To Camp Mills; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out at Camp Dodge. May 26. 1919. 




Axel Edward Adolphsen 
Coon Township 



Wm. G. Aitken 
Storm Lake 



Albert Albrechtsen 
Newell 



Charles L,. Alpers 
Coon Township 




Ernest C. Alpers 
Coon Township 



AA'iriani J. A'ners 
Coon Township 



C. H. Anderson 
Lee Township 



Clar*-pce Anderson 
Albert City 




Conrad H. Anderson 
Albert City 



Elmer B Anderson 
Poland 



Harry W. Anderson Horace Shade Anderson 

Fairheld Township Storm Lake 




Howard J. Anderson 
Elk Township 



(Jrvillf M. Andrrson 
Linn Grove 



<.)t>car Andei -siiu 
Albert City 



.). l;. Aiidiews 
L.inn tirove 




Sfgurd Anker sun 
Nokomis Township 



Elmer Ankerson 
Nokomis Township 



Ht-rnard Arnts 
Storm Lake 



Alfred Z. Ashbaush 
Fairfield Township 




Alva E. Avenall 
Storm Lake 



Ralph Harvey Avenall 
Storm Lake 



Axel Edwin Axelson 
Maple Valley Township 



Robert M. Bailie 
Storm Lake 



38 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



AMBIiER, HERBERT DONAI.D 

Storm Iiake 

Born July 0, 1895. Knl. July 24, 1918. 
Sergt. in Headquarters Department, 4th Replm. 
Regt. Trained at Camp Gordon. Mustered 
out January 26, 1919. 

ANDERSON, EI.MER B. 

Poland 
Born June 22, 1896. Enl. April 8, 1918. Pvt. 
Batt. D, 77th Field Artillery, 4th Div. Trained 
at Madison, Wisconsin, from April 8 to June 
12, 1918; to Camp Jaclsson, from June 12 to 
July 17. Left from Hobol^en, July 23 on 
transport Tydens; landed in London. August 
8, to September 1. To Le Havre, France, Sep- 
tember 4. To Camp Hunt at Bordeaux: joined 
4th Div., September 19; in Meuse-Argonne 
offensive from September 26 until November 
11; to Pont-sur-Meuse for one weel<; moved 
into Army of Occupation at Kaisersesch, Ger- 
many, until May 25, 1919; to Neunahr until 
July 11; to Brest. Sailed from Brest, July 
17, 1919, on U. S. S. Tiger; landed at New 
Yorlc, July 29, To Camp Merritt; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out at Camp Dodge, August 
5, 1919. 

AKSERSON, GOTTFRIED G. 

Marathon 
Born November 19, 1891. Enl. April 8, 1918. 
Pvt. 110th Aerial Squadron, Mach. Gun Dept. 
Trained at Madison, Wisconsin, in Detachment 
School until June 8; to Dayton, Ohio, until 
September 25; trans, to Carlton Field until 
November 1; to Dorr Field until February 1, 
1919; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out at Camp 
Dodge, February 10, 1919. 

ANDERSON, HORACE SHADE 

Storm Iiake 
Born April 3, 1893. Enlisted October 8, 1917. 
Pvt. Co. A, 350th Regt., 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge for two months; trans, to 87th 
Div. at Camp Pike. Mustered out February 2, 
1918, on account of physical disability. 

ANDERSON, ORVII.I.E Ttl. 
Ziinn Grove 

Born May 25, 1896. Enl. August 20, 1918. 
Pvt. 1st cl.. Remount Dept.. Field Artillery. 
Trained at Camp McClellan. Mustered out 
April 2, 1919. 

ANDERSON, JOHN WIZ.I.IAM 

Alta 
Born May 6, 1888. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. A, 5th Div. Trained at Camp Gordon, 



in Co. C. 4th Replm. Regt.; to Camp Merritt. 
Left Hobolcen on Vaterland, August 29, 1918; 
landed at Brest, September 6. To Le Mans; to 
Nancy; to Nixeville, where he was transferred 
to Co. A, 5th Div,; entered line of figliting at 
Cunel on October 12; to Brest, July 8. Sailed 
on Aquitania, July 12, 1919; landed at New 
York, July 20. Mustered out at Camp Dodge, 
July 28, 1919. 



ANDERSON, CI.ARENCE 

Alt)ert City 

Born March 5, 1893. Enl. May 11, 1918. 
Seamon 2d cl. Trained at Camp Lewis, Great 
Lakes Naval Training Station, in 17th Regi- 
ment. Naval Station; trained at Camp Decatur 
until May 29; to Camp Dewey; June 3, to 
Camp Paul Jones; August 3, to Camp Perry, 
December 5, to Camp Lewis. Mustered out 
February 10, 1919. 



ANDERSON, OSCAR 

Albert City 
Born June 19, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. L, 163d Inf., 41st Div. Trained at Camo 
Gordon; to Camp Merritt. Embarked August 
29; landed at Brest, France, September 20. 
To St. Georges; January 26, 1919. to Brest. 
Sailed from Brest, February 4; landed at Camp 
Dix, February 16. To Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out at Camp Dodge, March 4, 1919. 



ANDERSON, CONRAD H. 

Albert City 

Born March 21, 1891. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Sailed from New York, August 
30. 191S. in U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed at Brest, 
SeiJtember 12. Two weeks of intense training 
at St. George; arrived at Verdun, October 12, 
but was not sent into the line of fighting until 
October 29; was hit by fragments of a high ex- 
plosive shell on November 3, taken to a field 
hospital, then to Evacuation Hospital No. 15, 
where he had first operation; to Base Hospital 
No. 53 for 18 days; to Base Hospital No. 10 at 
Kerhornou, near Brest. Sailed from Brest as 
stretcher case on U. S. S. Agamemnon, Decem- 
ber 27; arrived at Debarkation Hospital No 5, 
New York City, January 5, 1919. Remained at 
Debarkation Hospital No. 5 about four weeks 
till recuperation was sufficient to allow him to 
walk on crutches; to the general hospital at 
Des Moines, and after six weeks in this hos- 
pital he was given a furlough and upon his 
return waited about a month for his discharge. 
Mustered out May 23, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



39 



ANDERSON, HARRY W. 
Fairfield 

Born July 29, 1892. Enl. May 27, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. K, 352d Inf., 88th Div. Trained at Camp 
Dodge; to Camp Mill.s on August 9. Sailed. 
Augu.st 16, on Ulysses; landed at Liverpool, 
August 28. To Camp Wincliestpr ; to Southamp- 
ton. To Le Havre, France. To rest camp; to 
Les-Loumer, September 2; to Alles-St. Reinine, 
September 4; to Vegeloise; to Chevermont, 
Oct. 6; to Rowghont, Oct. 10; to Camp Norman, 
Oct. 13; to Hagenbacl^, Oct. 24; to trenches in 
Alsace-Lorraine sector, Oct. 31; to Toul sector, 
Nov. 4, to support the proposed drive of the 
newly-organized Second American Army; 
arrived at Belfort Area, Nov. 8, and remained 
there until November 11; to Lucy, Nov. 13; to 
Bonnet. Nov. 30 to May 11, 1919; ordered to Le 
Mans; to St. Nazaire. Sailed May 21, 1919. on 
the U. S. S. Pocohontas; landed at Newport 
News, June 1. To Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
at Camp Dodge, June 14, 1919. 



Dodge for two months in Co. A. 350th Reg., 
88th Div.; to Camp Pil<e for four months; to 
Camp, Merritt. Sailed from Hoboken on trans- 
port Mount Vernon, April 19, 1918; landed at 
Bre.st, April 28, 1918. Took sick on boat and 
went to Base Hosp. Sec. 5; one month after 
leaving hosp. joined Co. L, 9th Inf., 2d Div. 
near Chateau Thierry, was there twelve days 
and was wounded and sent to Field Hosp. No. 1 
for three days and then was sent to Base 
Hosp. No. 20 for one month, then sent back 
through classification camp to Co. L. 9th Inf., 
2d Div. near St. Mihiel sector for four days; 
to Champagne front 8 days; to Argonne until 
armistice was signed; on hike to Germany to 
Bendorff, for four months; to Ruschied for 
three months; left Ruschied, July 16, 1919, on 
train for Brest. Sailed on Princess Matoka. 
July 23, 1919; landed Hoboken, August 1, 1919. 
To Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out at Camp Dodge, August 14, 1919. 



ANDERSON, C. H. 
I^ee 

Knl. June 2, 1918. Apprentice Seaman on the 
U. S. S. Ryndam. Trained at the Great Lakes 
Naval Training Station. Crossed on transport 
duty five times. 



ANDERSON, HO'WABD J. 

EUc 
Born January 30, 1896. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. K, 11th Inf., 5th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon for four weeks; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed from Hoboken on Leviathan. August 30. 
Landed at 3rest on September 7. To Le Mans 
for five weeks; to Verdun sector until the 
armistice was signed; to Luxemburg with the 
Army of Occupation for seven months; to 
Brest. Sailed for the United States, on July 11. 
1919. on the U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed at 
Hoboken, July 20. To Camp Mills; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out at Camp Dodge. July 28, 
1919. 

ANDREWS, J. R. 

Iiinn Grove 

Born July 6, 1892. Enl. July 30, 1918. Musi- 
cian in Inf., Headquarters Co., 153d Depot 
Brigade. Trained at Syracuse, New York, and 
at Camp Dix. Passed examination for "gas 
hound." Mustered out December 11, 1918. 

ANKERSON, ROSS I^. 

Alta 

Born January 22, 1895. Enl. Sept. 20, 1917. 
<'orp. Co. L, 9th Inf., 2d Div. Trained at Camp 



ANKERSON, SEGTTRD 

Nokomis Township 

Born April 11, 1893. Enl. June 25, 1918. Pvt. 
274th Field Hosp., 19th Sanitary Train to Base 
Hosp. Detachment. Trained at Camp Dodge 
for 10 months, promoted to horseshoer at 
Field Hosp. Dec. 19, 1918; transferred to 163d 
Depot Brigade from engineers, transferred to 
274th Field Hosp., 19th Sanitary Train to Base 
Hosp. Detachment. Mustered out at Camp 
Dodge, May 1, 1919. 



ANKERSON, EI.MER 
Nokomis Township 

Born May 16, 1890. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
205th Co., 103d Military Police Battalion. 
Trained at Camp Gordon four weeks; ordered 
to Camp Merritt. Sailed from New York. Aug. 
3. on U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed at Brest, 
September 13. To St. Georges four weeks; to 
Auton one month; to Tours from November 10 
to July 26, 1919; to Brest. Sailed on Mercury, 
August 3; landed at Norfolk, August 13. To 
Army Base Supply at Norfolk; to Camp Dodge, 
Mustered out Camp Dodge, August 20, 1919. 



ARMSTRONG, FRED A. 
Iiincoln Township 

Born August 24. 1S91. Knl. Sept. 4, 1917. 
Sergt. in Co. A, 25th Mach. Gun Batt. Trained 
at Camp Dodge from Sept. 5, 1917 to Apr. 15, 
1918; to Camp Hancock, August 12, 191S; to 
Camp Sheridan; February 4, 1919; to Camp 
Dodge. Promoted to Sergt. January 4, 1918. 
Mustered out Camp Dodge, February 12, 1919. 




John Paul Bair 
Storm Lake 



Arthur N. Barnard 
Alta 



Harvey v. Barnard 
Alta 



George C. Barnes 
Providence Township 




Samuel Josepli Barnett 
Hayes Township 



Leonard l'\ Larr 
Storm LaUe 



Kenneth li. Barrett 
Sioux Rapids 



Hilheit !•'. Barrick 
Sto!"m Lake 




Edward L>. Bartels 
Coon Township 



FVank S. Bass 
Newell 



Jesse H. Battern 
Storm Lake 



Russell W. Battern 
Storm Lake 




Robert S. Beatty 
Storm Lake 



Calvin A. Bflclu-r 
Storm Lake 



Alva J. Belrting 
Fairfleld Township 



Benj. P. Beldinj 
Marathon 




Wm. Sherwood Bell 
Storm Lake 



Leo A. Beller 
Newell 



Carl G. Benj^ston 
Nokomis Township 



jewis Kip Bennett 
Lee Township 




C. P. 1:^11 
Alta 



Edgar H. Bi-nson 
Alta 



Reuben L. Benson 
Lincoln Township 



George Adam Bentley 
Poland Township 



42 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



ARNTS, BERNARD 
Storm Iiake 

Born January 2, 18:i3. Enl. July 29. 1918. 
Wagoner, Co. B, 211th Engineer.?, 11th Div. 
Promoted from private to wagoner. Trained 
at Camp Forrest from July 21, 1918 to Oct. 
31, 1918; to Camp Meade, Mustered out Camp 
Dodge, February 6, 1919. 

ASKBAUGH, AI.FRBD Z. 

Fairfield TownBhip 
Born September 30, 1886. Enl. February 25, 
1918. Pvt., Co. H, 327th Inf., 82d Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge, at Camp Gordon and Camp Up- 
ton. Sailed from Boston on S. S. Grampian, 
May 1, 1918; landed Liverpool. To Southamp- 
ton; to Le Havre. Trained at Franieu; to Toul; 
entered line of fighting about twenty miles 
from Toul, July 20, relieved, Aug. 5; to Pagney 
for two weeks; to Nancy sector, Aug. 17 to 
Sept. 19; to rest billets for a few days; to 
Chaumont, Sept. 30; joined 30th Div. in Ar- 
gonne Forest at Commes, and was twenty- 
four days in fighting line; ordered to Champ- 
litte and remained tliere from October 30, 1918 
until March 1, 1919.; to St. Medard. Sailed from 
Bordeaux, Ma.v 7; landed at New York, May 
18. To Camp Upton; to Camp Dodge. Muster- 
ed out Camp Dodge. May 26, 1919. 

AVENAI.I., AI.VA E. 
Storm Iiake 

Born April 12, 1897. Enl. December 14. 1917. 
Corp. Co. A, 1st Batt., A. O. B. D. F. Trained 
at Camp Dodge for two months and twenty-two 
days; transferred to Camp Merritt. Promoted 
from private to corporal. Sailed from Hobo- 
ken. March 13, 1918, on ship Henry R. Mallory; 
landed at Bordeaux, France, March 28. To 
Gtnicourt, one week; to Geivers, two weeks; to 
Is-sur-Tille, nine months; to Mayan, two 
months; to evacuation camp, one month; to St, 
Lager, six weeks; to Bordeaux. Sailed on 
S. S. Black Crow, April 24, 1919; landed at 
Hoboken, May 6. To Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out at Camp Dodge, May 20, 1919. 

AVBNAI.I., RAiFH HABVSY 
Storm Xiake 

Born August 18, 1898. Enl. September, 1918. 
Pvt. in Student Army Training Corps, in Co. 
9, Iowa State College, Ames Iowa, Mustered 
out December 21, 1918. 

AXEI.SOIT, AXEI. EDWIN' 
Maple Valley Township 
Born April 18, 1894. Enl. August 20, 1918. 
Pvt. in Salvage Co., Quartermaster Corps. 



Trained at Camp McClellan. Mustered out 
February 25, 1919. 

BAUiIE, ROBERT M, 
Storm Iiaka 
Born January 22, 1891. Enl. July 23, 191S. 
Pvt. in Engineers' Div. of Officers' Training 
School at Camp Pike and at Camp Humphreys. 
Scheduled for commission two weeks after 
time of being mustered out. Mustered out 
November 28, 1918. 



BAIR, JOHN FAUIi 
Storm Iiake 
Born April 27, 1898. Enl. October 1, 1918. 
Pvt. in Naval Unit, Student Army Training 
Corps, Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa. Mus- 
tered out December 24, 1918. 



BARNARD, ARTHUR N. 
Alta 

Born December 27, 1889. Enl. August 5, 1917. 
Sergt. major at General Headquarters. Cliau- 
mont, France. Trained with South Dakota Na- 
tional Guard at Camp Carlton, Parker South 
Dakota; transferred to Camp Greene and as- 
signed to the 147th Field Art., June 27, 1917; 
to Camp Mills, October 2, 1917; to Camp Mer- 
ritt, December 7, Sailed for overseas on Olym- 
pic, January 11, 1918; landed at Liverpool, 
January 18. To Southampton; to Le Havre, 
France. Reported for duty at General Head- 
quarters of Adjutant General at Chaumont, on 
February 20, where he was promoted to sergt. 
major, there he was connected with the print- 
ing department of the Adjutant General of the 
American Expeditionary Forces at Chaumont, 
Haute-Marne, and was engaged in the print- 
ing of several orders, special orders, codes, 
pamphlets, bulletins, stationery, blanks and 
other printed material needed by the Ameri- 
can Expeditionary Forces. Left Chaumont 
for Brest July 2, 1919. Sailed from 

Brest for the United States on the Kaiserin 
Augusta Victoria, July 10, 1919; landed Hobo- 
ken, July 18, 1919. To Camp Mills; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out, July 24, 1919. 

BARNARD, HARVEY A. 

Alta 
Born September 20, 1892. Enl. July 15, 1917. 
Pvt. Co. B, 29th Engineers. Trained at Camp 
Greene, Battery F, 147th Field Art., 41st Div.; 
to Camp Mills. Sailed for overseas, January 
11, 1918; landed at Liverpool, January 19. To 
Le Havre. France, January 22. Trained at 
Army Engineering School at Langres, there 
transferred to Co, B, 29th Engineers; reached 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA MSTA COUNTY 



43 



the front with Sound-Ranging Sec. No. 2 on 
April 3, at the time when the 26th was reliev- 
ing the 1st Div. on the sector northwest of 
Toul; was located at Grondru and then at 
Brossay; in the battle of Seicheprey; joined the 
French at Petite-Marclie; to Chateau-Thierry 
sector in June and was with the Second and 
Twenty-sixth Division; next moved to a point 
for the next drive; shell-shocked and was sent 
to a hospital for a month and half of treat- 
ment; rejoined sound-ranging .section late in 
September and was located at Villers-sous- 
Preny until after the armistice was signed, the 
battalion was then mobilized at Toul — the first 
time it had been together — and was trans- 
ferred by special order to the 74th Engineers 
and sent to the base port for transportation 
home. Sailed from St. Nazaire for the United 
States, February 26, 1919; landed at New- 
port News, March 11, 1919. Mustered out, 
March 21, 1919. 



BARNES, GEORGE C. 
Providence Township 

Born November 5, 1804. Knl. September 19. 
■1917. Corp. Headquarters Co, 58th Inf., 4th 
Div. Trained at Camp Dodge, Camp Pike, and 
Camp Greene; to Camp Mills. Sailed from New 
York May 10, 1918; on S. S. Shermistles; landed 
at London, June 5, 1918. To Folkstone, for 
four days. To Calais, Prance. To Liezey; to 
Chateau-Thierry, July 17, and was in line un- 
til wounded. August 7, by a high explosive 
shell; to Base Hos. No. 17; to Base Hos. No. 
24; to St. Aignan; back to outfit; attacked on 
September 26, in Meuse-Argonne fighting line 
until October 9; to Metz sector when armistice 
was signed; started for the Rhine, November 
19; to Diedenhoff-Moselle; to Bondsdorff-on- 
the-Rhine, April 6; to Coblenz, May 22; to 
Brest. July 24. Sailed from Brest for the 
United States, July 24; landed at New York 
August 1. Mustered out at Camp Dodge, Aug- 
ust 8, 1919. 



BARNETT, SAMVEI. JOSEPH 

Hayes Township 
Born November 2, 1892. Knlisted, July 25. 
1918. Private in Company A. in infantry regi- 
ment. Trained at Camp Gordon. Mustered out 
January 13, 1919. 



BARR, RUSSEI.1^ H. 

Storm Iiake 
Born July 5, 1897. Enlisted September 5, 
1918. Private in Co. B, 88th Inf. Trained at 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out, January 27. 1919. 

BARRETT, KENNETH R. 
Sioux Rapids 

Born July 14, 1899. Enlisted April 12. 1917. 
Yeoman 1st cl. on U. S. S. Montana. Trained 
at Great Lakes Naval Training Station for 
seven days; remainder of training on board 
ship. Promoted to yeoman 1st cl. in July, 191S. 
Montana was in continuous service from April 
22, 1917, until December 10, 1918; made eleven 
trips with convoy to war zone and return. Mus- 
tered out, December 10, 1918. 

BARRICK, HII,BERT F. 
Storm Ziake 
Born March 2, 1896. Enlisted, July 14, 1917. 
Private Ist-cl., 109th Ammunition Train, 34th 
Div. Trained at Fair Grounds, Des Moines, 
Iowa, for two months; transferred to Camp 
Cody, September 1, 1917, and remained there 
until August 10, 1918; transferred to Dimmel 
Motor Works, Chicago, drove trucks through to 
Raritan Arsenal at New Brunswick, New Jer- 
sey; to Camp Dix; to New York. Sailed from 
Hoboken, October 17, on Olympic; landed at 
Southampton. October 23. To Cherbourg. To 
Camp St. Sulpice for two months; to Bordeaux; 
to Gononcourt. Sailed for the United States. 
June 10, 1919; landed at Philadelphia, June 22. 
To Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
at Camp Dodge, June 28, 1919. 

BARTEI.S, EDWARD D. 
Coon Township 

Born March 28, 1896. Enlisted August 20, 
1918. Corporal in Co. F, 6th Replm. Reg. 
Trained at Camp Gordon until June 22, 1918; 
ordered to Camp Dodge to be mustered out. 
Mustered out January 28, 1919. 

BASS, FRANK S. 
Newell 

Born November 23, 1896. Enlisted April 1, 
1917. Private, Pack Train No. 303. Trained at 
Fort Bliss Remount Station. Mustered out 
June 1, 1919. 



BARR, I.EONARD F. 

Storm Iiake 

Born December 15, 1893. Enlisted June 25. 
1918. Private in Co. C, 350th Inf. Trained at 
Camp Dodge. Given medical discharge at 
Camp Dodge, October 7, 1918. 



BATTERN, JESSE W. 
Storm Kake 

Born February 6, 1897. Enlisted September 
7, 1918. Private in Co. B, 88th Reg. 19th Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge. Mustered out Feb- 
ruary 25, 1919. 




Howard Dtlus U-utlL-y 
Poland Township 



Carl Ralph Berg 
Fairfield Township 



Carl A. Bersir 
Rembrandt 



Raymond 1. llprlin-ss 
Torris H. Bertness 




Torris H. Bertness 
Barnes Township 



Oscar Emil BJork 
Fairfield Township 



William R. Bland 
Hayes Township 



Robert Merwyn Bleakly 
Storm Lake 




lilarl J. Blomgren 
Lincoln Township 



Gustaf C. Blomberg 
Albert City 



Harvie E. Blomquist 

Poland Township 



Alfred Boese 
Brooke Township 




Fred B. Boettchei 
Coon Township 



James Bolen Henry Theodore Borcherding Clarence A. Bosley 

Lee Township Maple Valley Township Storm Lake 




Ira J. Boslough 
Grant Township 



Karl A\'. Bowers 
Storm Lake 



Millard H. Boyce Quincy Edgar Boynton 

Newell Sioux Rapids 




Edward P. Brady 
Storm Lake 



George N. Brady 
Scott Township 



Joseph M. Brady 
Scott Township 



Philip Brady 
Scott Township 



46 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA A'ISTA COUNTY 



BATTEBN, JOKN i:i.VIN 

Storm Iiake 
Born February 1, 1892. Enlisted July 22, 
1918. Pvt. Co. L. 148th Inf., 37th Div. Trained 
at Camp Gordon; to Camp Merritt. Sailed 
from Hoboken on S. S. North Amberland; 
landed Liverpool, October 31. To Camp Cod- 
ford; to Southampton. To LeHavre, Novem- 
ber 6. To Le Mans; to Brest, March 1. 1919. 
Sailed from Brest for the United States, on 
S. S. Santa Olivia, March 16, 1919; landed at 
New York. March 30. To Camp Mills for 
ten days; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out at 
Camp Dodge, April 14, 1919. 



BATTEBN BUSSEII. VT. 

Storm Iiake 
Born May 22, 1898. Enlisted March 26, 1918. 
Pvt. in Machine Gun Co., 48th C.A.C., 41st 
Div. Trained at Fort Flagler and was sent 
to Camp Eustis. Sailed from Newport News, 
October 7, 1918; landed at Brest, October 20. 
to St. Angiers; to La Charite; to St. Nazalre. 
Sailed from St. Nazaire for the United States, 
February 28, 1919; landed at Newport News, 
March 13. To Camp Stewart; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out at Camp Dodge, March 26, 1919. 



BEATTY, ROBERT S, 
Storm I,ake 

Born October 21, 1895. Enlisted December 
5, 1917. Chief Quartermaster on U. S. S. 
Lake Frances. Promoted from Seaman 2d-cl. 
to Quarter Master 2d-cl., to Quarter Master 
Ist-cl.. to Chief Quarter Master. Trained at 
Municipal Pier, Chicago. Fourteen months con- 
tinuous sea service overseas in France. Eng- 
land. Ireland, Wales, Belgium and Holland. 
Sailed for the U. S. from Cardiff, Wales, 
August 28, 1919; landed New York, September 
15, Mustered out September 29, 1919. 



BEDARD, JOHN F. 
Storm I^ake 
Born May 8, 1888. Enlisted February 20, 1918. 
Sergeant in Heavy Art., 54th C. A. C." Trained 
at Boston, Massachusetts. Sailed for France 
August 15. 1918, on U. S. S. Mongolia; landed 
at St. Nazaire; to Angais; to Paris; to western 
front on November 5; to Pymide until Feb- 
ruary 15; to Brest. Sailed for the United 
States from Brest on English ship Vedic, Feb- 
ruary 22, 1919; landed at Boston, March 8, 1919. 
To Camp Devens; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out at Camp Dodge, March 28, 1919. 



BEI.CHEB, CAI.VIIT A. 
Storm Iiake 
Born February 16, 1892. Bnl. April 6, 1917. 
Second Lieut. Co. D, 126th Mach. Gun Batt.. 
34 th Div. Trained at Ida Grove, Iowa, for 
two months; transferred to Camp Cody for 
ten months; to Camp Hancock; from July 15 
to December 13, 1918. Promoted to Corp., to 
sergt., to 2d lieut. Mustered out December 
13, 1918. 

BEI.SING, AI.VA J. 
Fairfield Township 

Born January 15, 1891. Enl. February 24, 
1918. Pvt. Co. E, 351st Inf., 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge until August 7, 1918; to Camp 
Mills, August 15. Sailed from Hoboken, Au- 
gust 28, on the Scotia: landed at Liverpool, 
September 2. To Southampton. Landed in 
Prance September 3; to Cherbourg, Septem- 
ber 4; to Champey, September 18; was sick 
with Spanish influenza for three weeks; at 
Fulaine, October 17 to October 20; to Alsace 
sector, October 30; on Noveniber 10 started for 
Metz, stopped at Francheville on November 29; 
to Houdancourt on December 16; to Base Hosp. 
No. 81 on account of rheumatism; December 
30, back to Houdancourt; assigned back to 
company, January 7, 1919; back to American 
Base Hosp. No. 42 on account of mumps; 
assigned to Casual Co. 1450 at St. Aignan, 
January 24; to Brest, February 15. Embarked 
at Brest on the U. S. S. Huntington. March 
11; landed at Hoboken March 24. To Camp 
Merritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out at 
Camp Dodge. April 2, 1919. 

BEI.DING, BENJAMIN F. 
Marathon 
Born September 14, 1886. Enl. July 11, 

1917. Cook 2d-cl. on U. S. S Sierra. Trained 
at Great Lakes Naval Training Station; served 
from November 15, 1917, to February 10, 191S, 
in the Panama Canal Zone; then transferred to 
the receiving ship New York on March 3, 1919, 
Promoted from fireman 3d-cl. to ship cook 
4th-cl., to cook 2d-cl. Sailed from New York, 
March 20, 1918; landed at Bordeaux, April 6, 

1918. Sailed from Bordeaux for the United 
States, April 6, 1919; arrived at New York, 
April 17, 1919. Mustered out September 14, 
1919. 

BEI.Ii, WII.I.IAM SHERWOOD 
Storm I<ake 

Born June 19, 18SI8. Enl. October 1. 1918. 
Pvt. Student Army Training Corps, Co. 2, 
Sec. A, Iowa State College. Trained at Iowa 
State College, Ames, Iowa. Mustered out 
December 13, 1918. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA A'ISTA COUNTY 



47 



BEIiIiER, IiEO A. 

Newell 
Born August 6, ISai. Enl. July 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 306th Inf., 77th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Sailed from New York on 
U. S. S. Plattsburg. August 29, 1918; landed 
at Brest, September 12. 1918. To St. Georges; 
to St. Aignan; to Centres; transferred to 
77th Div. November 13; at Colomby; ordered 
to Brest. Sailed from Brest, on transport 
Mount Vernon. April 17, 1919; landed at New 
York, April 25, 1919. Mustered out May 18, 
1919. 

BENGSTON, CABI. G. 
Nokomis Township 

Born March 3, 1895. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Corp. Co. D. 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon; transferred, December 29, 1918, 
to Camp Dodge. Promoted to corp. October 
2, 1918. Was in Officers' Training School. 
Mustered out at Camp Dodge, January 10, 
1919. 



York, April 15, 1919. Edgar H. Benson was in 
the bombardment at Durazzo, Albania, October 
2. 1918, for three hours at the time that the 
submarine chaser on which he was serving 
was with the Italian Fleet and was honored 
by the Italian Government. Mustered out at 
New York, April 28, 1919. 

BENSON, REUBEN I.. 
liincoln To'wnship 

Born July 13. 1891. Enl. July 25, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. K, 11th Inf., 5th Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from Hoboken 
August 31 on the Leviathan; landed at Brest, 
September 7, 1918. To Le Mans, trained 
here for five weeks in the 33d Inf., 83d Div.; 
to Nissville, near Verdun; quarantined for 
measles for fourteen days in the 5 th Div. 
Casual Camp; to Longvay, December 4, there 
assigned to Company K, 11th Inf. 5th Div.; 
to Esches, Luxemburg; to Shifflauge until 
July 5, 1919; landed at Hobokt-n. July 20. To 
Camp Mills; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
July 28, 1919. 



BENNETT, IiEWIS KIF 
Iiee Township 

Born July 10. 1891. Enl. December 15. 1917. 
Corp. in Headquarters Co., 60th Art., Coast 
Art. Corps. Trained at Fortress Monroe. Pro- 
moted from pvt. to Corp., February 1, 1919. 
Left Newport News on U. S. S. Siboney. April 
23, 1918; landed at Brest May 6. To Emilion, 
July 21; to Camp de Louge, July 21 to Septem- 
ber 4; left for front on September 5; arrived 
at Toul. September 8; took part in St. Mihiel 
drive from September 12 to September 16; to 
Meuse-Argonne offensive and was in this offen- 
sive from September iS to September 16; 
spent month in training area. Sailed from 
Brest, January 26, 1919, on R. M. S. Cedrlc; 
arrived at New York, February 4, 1919. Dis- 
charged at Camp Dodge, February 26, 1919. 



BENSON, EDGAR H. 

Alta 
Born November 9, 1898. Enl. October 16. 
1917. Radio operator. Trained at Great Lakes 
Naval Training Station and at Radio School, 
Cambridge, Massachusetts. Promoted from 
seaman to radio operator. Sailed from Cam- 
bridge, June 30, 1918, on U. S. S. Henderson — 
caus:ht fire at sea — and finished trip across 
on the LT. S. S. Von Steuben; landed at Brest, 
France, July 7, 1918. Crossed France and Italy 
to Corfu, Greece; worked on patrol line on 
submarine chaser until the armistice was 
signed; to Austria for thirty days; to Athens 
for thirty days; to Gibraltar for three months. 
Sailed for the United States; landed at New 



BENSON, CONRAD FORREST 

Alta, 

Born December 29, 1897. Enl. June 4, 1918. 
M. M. 1st cl. Naval Air Station, Washington, 
D. C. Trained; G. L. N. T. S. ; at Washington, 
D. C. Promoted from L. M. M. 2d cl. to 
M. M. 1st cl. Mustered out at G. L. N. T. S., 
Septembier 9, 1919. 

BENTLEY, GEORGE ADAM 
Poland Township 

Born May 30. 1896. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D. 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon until October 4. Sailed from 
New York on S. S. Cedric, October 23, 1918; 
landed at Liverpool, November 8. Crossed 
Channel to Le Havre, France, November 14. 
To Coutras until February 21, 1919; trans- 
ferred to Headquarters Co., 116th Ammunition 
Train at Auge, March 12; sent to Hosp. No. 
26 at St. Aignan; to Base Hosp. No. 69 at 
Savenay, April 6. Sailed from St. Nazaire 
on S. S. Matsonia, April 13; landed at New- 
port News, April 24, 1919. Sent to United 
States Gen. Hosp. No. 28 at Fort Sheridan 
until May 2. Mustered out at Camp Dodge, 
June 11, 1919. 

BENTIEY, HOWARD DEIOS 

Poland Township 
Born August 28, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918, 
Sergt. Military Police. Trained at Camp 
Gordon until October 28; ordered to Camp 
AVheeler until March 5, 1919. Mustered out 
March 6, 1919. 



48 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



BERG, CABI, BAI,FH 
Fairfield Township 

Born March 20. 1895. Enl. February 25. 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl.. -ISth Co., 20th Engineers. Trained 
at Camp DoOge; ordered to American Univ.. 
Washington. D. C, and engaged in road and 
bridge instruction. Sailed from Hoboken. May 
22 on Leviathan; landed at Brest. May 30. To 
Sen; to Sainte-Marie; June 18, ordered to 
Vauxet; to Chantegrue in Lorraine sector; 
left during the first oart of October for Baum- 
le-Dames, and remained there until January 14, 
1919; to Captieux, from January 9 to .Way 
25. in march on convoy to Luxemburg and 
Belgium; to Bordeaux. Sailed June 9, oa tiie 
U. S. S. Ohio; landed at Philadelphia. Jun-i 21. 
To Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge. Mu.stered out 
at Camp Dodge. June 28. 1919. 



Dodge. Mustered out at Camp Dodge. March 
8, 1919. 



BERTNESS, TORRIS H. 

Barnes 
Born October 11, 1889. Enl. August 20, 
1918. Pvt. 5th Receiving Batt., 17th Co.. 
157th Depot Brigade. Trained at Camp Gor- 
don, was in Physical and Bayonet Training 
School, served from August 20 to September 
23 with 157th Depot Brigade, with 6th inf. 
Replm. Regt. from September 24 to December 
29. with 3d Regt. Casuals from December 30, 
191.S. to January 6. 1919. with 17th Co.. 5th 
Receiving Batt., Depot Brigade from January 7 
to January 20. Mustered out at Camp Dodge, 
January 28, 1919. 



BERGER, CARI, A. 

Rembrandt 

Born March 13. 18:i2. Enl. June 23 I9IS. 
Pvt. in Headquarters Co., 350th Inf. Sth Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge; left Camp Dodge, 
August 4 for service over.seas. Sailed from 
Hoboken. August 11; landed in England, 
August 25. Landed at Cherbourg. France! 
August 29. Left Cherbourg for Semur for 
six weeks' training. September 3; to Haute- 
Alsace sector, October 7 to October 29; in Toul 
sector, November 9 to 11; to Menaucourt. 
November 27; left Menaucourt, May -26. 1919, 
for St. Nazaire. Sailed from St. Nazaire. 
May 19. on the transport Aeolus; landed at 
Newport News, May 30. Left Newport New.<:-. 
June 3 for Camp Dodge. Mustered out at 
Camp Dodge, June 5. 1919. 



BJORK, OSCAR EMII, 
Fairfield Township 

Born July 23, 1893. Enl. April 26. 1918. Pvt. 
Co. D, 338th Mach. Gunners, 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge and Camp Upton. Promoted 
to horseshoer. Sailed for overseas on the 
Casmere. August 16; landed at Liverpool. 
August 28. To Winchester; to Southampton; 
to Cherbourg. France. September 1. To 
Marigne; to Hericourt; to front Middle Alsace 
from October 5 to October 20; to Bessan- 
court; to Toul sector for thirty days; left, 
November 29, for Gondecourt sector and re- 
mained in this sector for seven months. Sailed 
for the United States, May 22, 1919, on Nether- 
land; landed at Newport News, June 4. To 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out at Camp Dodge, 
June 15. 1919. 



BERGI.IMG, EMU, O. 
Poland Township 

Born September 16, 1S93. Enl. July 24, 191S. 
Pvt. Headquarters Co., 112th Inf., 28th Div. 
Trained nt Camp Gordon. Sailed from New 
York, September 1. on Leviathan; landed at 
Brest, September 7. Moved to Le Mans; to 
Lamalou-Ies-Bains until October 1; to Vignot 
until October 10; to front on St. Mihiel sector 
until November 11, under shell fire for twenty- 
six days; left front, November 25, for Boux- 
ieres; to Le Mans. March 1, 1919. Sailed 
from St. Nazaire, April 18, on U. S. S. Poca- 
hontas; landed at Philadelphia, April 30. To 
Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out at 
Camp Dodge. May 18. 1919. 

BERTNESS, RAYMOND I. 

Barnes 
Born October 27, 1896. Enl. September 5, 
1918. Pvt. Co. 10, 3d Batt. Trained at Camp 



BI.AND, WII.I.IAM R. 
Storm Iiake 

Enl. July 24. 1918. I'vt. Ist-cl.. Co. D. 316th 
Inf., 79th Div. Trained at Camp Gordon for 
one month; to Camp Merritt. Sailed, August 
31; landed at Brest, September 12, 1918. To 
rest camp for one week; to St. Georges, for 
intensive bayonet drill for ten days; to front 
lines, to relieve the 29th Div. and part of the 
17th French Corps in the Meuse-Argonne sec- 
tor; engaged in fighting in Meuse-Argonne 
sector for three weeks up to the time that the 
armistice was signed. 

BI-EAELY, ROBERT MERWYN 
Storm Iiake 

Born December 2, 1898. Enl. October 1. 
1918. Pvt. in Student Army Training Corps at 
Iowa State College. Trained at Iowa State 
College. Ames. Iowa. Mustered out December 
20, 1918. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA VISTA COUNTY 



49 



BIiOMBEBG, G-USTAF C. 

Albert City 
Born June 4, 1808. Enl. October 4, 1918. 
Mechanic Co. B. Student Army Training Corps. 
Trained at Modern Auto School, Spokane. 
Wa.shinston, from October 16 to December 16. 
Mustered out December 16. 1918. 



BOESE, AI.FRED 

Brooke 
Born March 25, 1887. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. in 10th Co., 110th Regt., 35th Div. Sailed 
overseas. Landed at New York, April 10, 
1919. Mustered out May 2, 1919. 



BI,OMGBEN, BARI. J. 

Iiincoln To^wnsliip 
Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. Co. M. 163d Inf., 
41st Div. Trained at Camp Gordon in Co. D, 
4th Replm. Regt. until August 25; ordered to 
Camp Merritt, arrived there August 27. and 
marched to Alpine landing. Sailed from New 
York on the U. S. S. Plattsburg, August 30; 
landed at Brest, Sejitember 12. Remained at 
Napoleon's Fort until September 16; sent back 
to Brest for guard duty in Officers' Casual 
Camp; September 19. to classification camp; 
September 22, to St. Georges, transferred to 
Co. M, 163d Inf., 41st Div. and remained at St. 
Georges until October 8; October 12, to Verdun, 
in French billets near Verdun until October 
24; wlien he was taken to classification hosp. 
sick with gastro-enteritis; to Evacuation Hosp. 
No. 6; to Base Hosp. No. 22 at Bordeaux on 
October 27. at this hosp. on November 3 he 
liecame sick witli Spanisli influenza and re- 
mained there until November 26. Sailed on 
transport U. S. S. Sierra at Bordeaux, Novem- 
ber 26; landed at Hoboken, December 9. To 
Base Hosp. at Camp Merritt until December 
25; transferred to United States Army Gen. 
Hosp. No. 21, and remained there until dis- 
charged from service. Discharged April 18, 
1919. 

BI.OMQUIST, HARVIB E. 

Poland ToTvnship 
Born October 1, 1895. Enl. December 13, 
1917. Pvt. 27 Balloon Co.. Aviation Branch 
of the Army. Trained at Camp Morrison from 
March. 1918, until July 1. 191S; to Camp Eustis 
until November 1; back to Camp Morrison 
until mustered out of the service. Mustered out 
at Camp Morrison December 13, 1918. 



BOATHAK, THOMAS I.E ROY 
Barnes Township 

Born January 14, 1896. Enl. February 25, 
1918. Pvt. Co. I, 82d Div. Trained at Camp 
Upton. Sailed overseas. Was in active serv- 
ice; was wounded, returned to the United 
States. Engaged in vocational study at Iowa 
State College, Ames, Iowa. 



BOETTCHER, CHBISTOFH 

Grant Township 

Born March 26, 1893. Enl. May 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, 158th Inf., 40th Div. Trained at 
Camp Lewis and Camp Kearney; transferred 
to Co. 14. 4th Bat., 166th Depot Brigade at 
Camp Lewis, and again transferred at Camp 
Kearney to Co. A, 158tli Inf. 



BOETTCRER, EUGENE VICTOR 

Tmesdale 

Born July 28, 1899. Enl. October 13. 1918. 

Pvt. in Student Army Training Corps. Buena 

Vista College, Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered 

out December 13. 1918. 



BOETTCHER, FRED E. 

Coon Township 

Born July 20. 1894. Enl. July 24. 1918. Pvt. 
Co. B, 316th Regt., 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon until August 25. Sailed from 
Hoboken on U. S. S. Plattsburg, August 30; 
landed at Brest, September 14. To St. Georges 
until September 25; to Verdun sector until 
October 5; to Meuse sector, Verdun front, in 
offensive from October 28 until November 11; 
left front and went to Revilles; to headquar- 
ters at Le Hieppe. Decemijer 2S; niu\ed to 
Orquevaux, April 1, 1919; to Classun, April 
26; to St. Nazaire. May 15. Sailed from St. 
Nazaire May 16, on the U. S. S. Texan; landed 
at Philadelphia, May 29. To Camp Dix; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out at Camp Dodge 
June 8, 1919. 



BOI.EIT, JAMES 
Iiee Township 

Born December 11, 1889. Enl June 15, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, 8th Div. of Motor Transport Corps. 
Trained at Iowa State College from June to 
August 13; at Valparaiso from August 15 to 
October 1; at Fort Sheridan until October 20; 
to Camp Mills. Sailed from the United States 
on November 4, but returned on November 9, 
when three days out. Mustered out at Camp 
Dodge. February 12, 1919. 




John H. Brailey 
Storm Lake 



Aaron Jolin Brandvold 
Rembrandt 



Karl \V. Bray 
Sioux Rapids 



Leo J. Brazel 
Barnes Township 




Everett B. Breig 
Storm Lake 



Arthur Berten Bi-evfogle Forrest McKinlev Brevfogle Merle Edwnrd Brevfo^le 
Alta Alta Alta 





Jotham M. Bristol 
Marathon 



Fred Bruhn 
Storm Lake 



Wiiie Bruiiinier 
Grant Township 



William F. Bryant 
Sulphur Springs 





Ijinn Orove 



Klmer Bryngelson 
Linn Grove 



Francis Edward Bullard 
Storm Lake 



Curl ^,\'. Buman 
Storm Lake 




Edward C. Bumann Ernest E. Bumann Herman W, Bumann 

Maple Valley Township Maple Valley Township Maple Valley Township 



William V,'. Bumann 
Maple Valley Township 




Thomas G. Burcham 
Storm Lake 



Edwin E. Burke 
Poland Township 



Will A. Burke 
Lee Township 



Earl Q. Burkholder 
Sioux Rapids 



52 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



BORCHERSINe, HENRY THUOSORE 
Maple Valley TownsMp 

Born March 26, 1888. Enl. February 25, 
1918. Corp. Co. E. 351st Inf., S8th Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge. Sailed on the Scotian 
from Hoboken, August 16; landed at Liverpool, 
August 28. To Brockwood; to Camp Stony 
Castle; landed at Cherbourg. France, September 
3. To rest camp; to Paullenay on the morn- 
ing of the 7th, billeted in an old castle which 
•was built in 1554, after drilling there left on 
September 14 for Champau for further drill; 
went into lines October 19 in a quiet sector 
near the Swiss border in Alsace-Lorraine; to 
Belfort, billet in Chaux, just out of Belfort; 
on the evening of November 10, started for 
Argonne-Meuse front — not in action — arrived 
at Francheville, near Toul, and remained there 
until November 28; hiked to Houdelaincourt 
for maneuvers and drills; to Lefaulz for con- 
voy work into Germany; May 4, back to 
Houdelaincourt; to Gondrecourt; to Avoys; to 
St. Nazaire, May 18. Sailed from St. Nazaire 
on V. S. S. Mercury, May 20; landed at 
Newport News, May 31. To Camp Hill; to 
Camp Dodge — paraded in Des Moines. Mustered 
out at Camp Dodge, June 7, 1919. 



ond trip for Bordeaux, out two days and re- 
turned. Relieved from Bali and sent to re- 
ceiving ship in New York from November 28, 
1918. to May 9, 1919. Transferred to U. S. S. 
Philippines transport until May 19, 1919. Dis- 
charged from U. S. S. Philippines, May 19, 
1919. 

BOWERS, KARI. W. 

Stonu Iiake 

Born July 18, 1895. Enl. May 13, 1917. Pvt. 
(sharpshooter) Co. A. .Sth Engineers (Mtd.). 
Trained at Fort Logan May 15 to May 28; 
ordered to Fort Bliss until August 25; re- 
ported for duty on Mexican Border and partici- 
pated in engagement against ViUistas near 
Juarez. Chihuahua, June 15-17. 1919. Made 
sharpshooter, May 20, 1919 — per J. 0.-3 — Head 
quarters Co.. 8th Engineers. Mustered out 
August 25, 1919. 



BOYCE, inrLIiARD H. 

Providence Township 
Born October 20, 1892. Bnl. July 24, 1918. 
Bugler, Co. C, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Mustered out January 9, 1919. 



BOSI.EY, CIiARENCE A. 
Storm Ziake 

Born January 28, 1896. Enl. June 4, 1917. 
Pvt. Co. C. 315th Engineers. 90th Div. Formerly 
Cook, Co. M, 168th Inf., 42d Div. Trained at 
Cherokee, Iowa; to State Fair Grounds, Des 
Moines, Iowa; to Camp Mills. Sailed for 
France on President Grant, October 18, 1917; 
returned to New York October 28; entered St. 
Mary's Hosp. atl Englewood. New Jersey, 
with pneumonia on November 8; left hosppital 
December 20; to Camp Merritt; sailed for 
France January 3, 191S, on U. S. S. Mercury; 
landed at St. Nazaire, France, January 15. To 
St. Aignan; to Berncastle. Germany; to Cob- 
lenz; to St. Nazaire. Sailed from St. Nazaire 
on the S. S. Alaskan; landed at New York, 
June 15, 1919. To Camp Mills; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out June 26, 1919. 



BOSI.OTTGH, IRA J. 

Grant To'wnsliip 
Born December 6, 1894. Enl. December 11, 
1917. Yoeman Ist-cl., on U. S. S. Philippines. 
Promoted to seaman 2d-cl., ■ to yeoman Ist-cl. 
Trained at G. L. N. T. S. from December 15, 
1917. to September, 1918. Went on Lr. S. S. 
Bali September 9, 1918. Left the United States 
from New York, September 16, 1918; landed 
at Bordeaux. Returned on Bali and landed in 
New Y'ork, November 11, 1918. Started sec- 



BOYNTON, BRYANT B. 
Sioux Rapids 

Born May 16, 1896. Enl. May 28, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. L, 352d Inf.. 88th Div. Trained at Camp 
Dodge from May 28, until August 9, 1918. 
Sailed from New York, August 16. on S. S. 
Ulysses; landed at Liverpool, August 28, 1918. 
Crossed English Channel to Le Havre. Moved 
to Lavazan; to Belfort, September 15: hiked 
to Vezelois until October 1; moved to Rouge- 
mont for one week; then to Camj) Norman; to 
Lorraine front, October 15; held as reserve in 
lines until November 1; returned to Belfort 
until Noveinber 12; to Lucy, until November 
20; sent to hosp. at Toul on account of foot 
until November 30; moved to hosp. at Orleans; 
at casual camp until December 30, 1918; to St. 
Aignan; to Brest. Sailed from Brest on trans- 
port Mount Vernon, March 3, 1919; landed at 
New York, March 11, 1919. To Camp Merritt; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out March 21, 1919. 



BOYNTON, QUINCY EDGAR 

Sioux Rapids 

Born January 17. 1894. Enlisted April 14, 
1917. Quarter Master Ist-cl. (General). Pro- 
moted from apprentice seaman to Quarter Mas- 
ter Ist-cl. I general). Trained at Great Lakes 
Naval Training Station from April 18-24, 1917; 
at Naval Station. Algiers, Louisiana, from April 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



53 



24, 1917, to June 9. 1917. Assigned to duty on 
the U. S. S. Keai'sarge with the Atlantic fleet; 
on duty with Signal Corps until March 1, 
1918; transferred to General Quarter Master 
and remained on duty with same ship until 
June 3, 1919. Mustered out at Great Lakes 
Naval Training Station, June 3, 1919. 



BRADY, EDWARD F. 

Scott Township 

Born July 4, 1.888. Enlisted September 4. 
1918. Private, unassigned. Medical Corps. 
Trained at Fort Riley from September 5. 1918, 
until February 1, 1919. Mustered out at Camp 
Dodge, February 4, 1919. 



BRADY, GEORGB N. 

Scott Township 
Born June 12, 1892. Enlisted April 26. 1918. 
Corporal, Company E. 338th Machine Gunners, 
88th Division. Trained at Camp Dodge; to 
Camp Upton. Sailed from Hoboken on Kash- 
mar, August 16; landed at Liverpool, August 
28. To Southampton; to Cherbourg. To Mar- 
rigney for two weeks; to Lucy; to Toul sector 
when armistice was signed; to Metz; to Coure- 
prits for five months: to St. Nazaire. Sailed 
for the United States on May 22, 1919; landed 
at Newport News, June 4. The king of the 
Netherlands was on the ship on which he 
sailed for the United States. To Camp Hill; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 15, 1919. 



BRADY, JOSEPH VI. 

Scott Township 
Born February 15, 1884. Enlisted August 8, 
1918. Private, Battery D, 2d Reg., Field Art. 
Trained at Camp Taylor and Fort Logan (three 
weeks). Mustered out at Camp Taylor, Decem- 
ber 11. 1918. 



BRADY, FKII.IF 

Scott Township 
Born August 12, 1888. Enlisted May 22, 1918. 
Private Ist-cl., at Gen. Headquarters, Chau- 
mont. France. Promoted from private to 
private Ist-cl. Sailed from Hoboken, August 
20, on Leviathan; landed at Liverpool, August 
31, To Southampton; to Cherbourg. To Paris; 
to Gen. Headquarters at Chaumont. Sailed from 
Brest August 20, on Vaterland; landed at Ho- 
boken, September 1, 1919. To Camp Dix. Mus- 
tered out September 15, 1919. 



BRAIIiEY, JACK H. 

Storm Iiake 

Born July 5, 1891. Enlisted April 10, 1917. 
Cook, Battery B, 103d Field Artillery, 26th Div. 
Trained at Camp Green during erection of that 
camp; ordered to Camp Mills with the 147th 
Field Artillery, 41st Div.; to Newport News 
Remount Station. Sailed with four companies 
of casuals on March 5, 1918, on the Northwest- 
ern, a small passenger boat taken off the west 
coast service; after rough trip reached Brest, 
March 14, without convoy; after laying in har- 
bor four days disembarked and proceeded to 
Lacourtine. In April left for Lorraine-Toul 
sector with the 103d Field Artillery. 26th Div.; 
at Chateau-Thierry July 8 to August 4; rested 
on banks of the Vesle river; to Chalbons until 
August 20; arrived at St. Mihiel September 6, 
taking up gun position September 10 to Sep- 
tember 18; after advancing across No Man's 
Land held position at St. Reny until October 
3, fighting in battles of Meuse-Argonne and 
Verdun: after armistice was signed went on 
long hike back to Neufchatel; arrived at Le 
Mans January 23, 1919; transferred to Military 
Police Corps, serving in Paris until July 9, 
1919; guarding prisoners at Tours until Sep- 
tember 20; spent four days in Paris; w-orked 
at Headquarters of Commandant of American 
Forces in France until November 11, 1919; 
assigned to convoying supplies to different 
parts of France. Still in Paris when this rec- 
ord was compiled. 



BRAKE, EDWniT 

Maple Valley Township 

Enl. September 3, 1918. Pvt. Base Hosp. 1. 
Trained: Camp Dodge; Camp Beauregard; 
CaiTip Upton; Camp Merritt; Camp Lee. 
Mustered out December 31, 2918. 



BRAN-DVOIiD, AARON JOHN 

Rembrandt 

Born September 26, 1899. Enl. October 11, 
1918. Pvt. in Student Army Training Corps. 
Trained at Buena Vista College, Storm Lake, 
Iowa. Mustered out December 13, 1918. 



BBATTIN, THOMAS 

Maple Valley Township 

Born June 13, 1895. Enl. June 13. 1918. Pvt. 
Bat. E, 338th Art., 88th Div. Trained at Camp 
Dodge. Went to Desnth, France. After the 
armistice was signed was transferred to Mili- 
tary Police. Wlas at Lorraine sector. Re- 
turned to the United States about February 8, 
on the U. S. S. Pocahontas. Mustered out at 
Camp Dodge, February 27, 1919. 



54 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



BRAY, SARI. W. 

Sioux Rapids 

Born August 22, 18:i5. Kill. December 8. 1917. 
Pvt. Co. 8, 41st Aerial Squadron. Trained at 
Kelly Field and Camp Mills. Sailed from New 
York, May 3, 1918; landed at Liverpool, May 
16. To Winchester; to Salisbury; to Liver- 
pool; to Calais. To Liverpool. Sailed from 
Liverpool November 28; landed at New York, 
December 11, 1918. Mustered out December 27, 
1918. 

BREia, EVEKETT B. 
Storm Iiake 

Born January 14. 1898. Enl. April 8, 1917. 
Sergt. Co. B, 166th Regt., 42d Div. Trained 
at Cherokee; to Camp Cody, left Co. K. 133d 
Inf. at Camp Cody in June as Replm. Co. No. 
3. Sailed from New York, June 28; landed at 
St. Nazaire. July 10. Transferred to 162d 
Inf., 41st Div., then to 42d Div. at Champagne 
sector, July 14; to Chateau Thierry; to St. 
Mihiel; to Verdun; to Meuse-Argonne; to 
Sedan; to Coblenz, Germany; to Base Hosp. No. 
36 for six weeks; to Toul for three weeks; 
to Podensac; to Bordeaux. Sailed from Bor- 
deau.K on Walter A. Luckenbach, March 6, 
1919; landed at Camp Mills, March 18. At 
Camp Mills for eighteen days; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out April 8, 1919. 



BRUMMER, WII.I.IE J. 
Grant Township 
Born December 20, 1896. Enl. September 6. 
1918. Pvt. in Quarter Master Corps, 163d 
Depot Brigade. Trained at Camp Dodge from 
September 8 to November 8, 1918; to Camp 
Johnson from November 10 to January 10. 
1919; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out January 
11, 1919. 

BREYFOGIiE, ARTHUR BERTEN 

Alta 
Born April 4, 1901. Knl. April 25, 1917. 
Seaman on U. S. S. Welles. Promoted from 
apprentice seaman to seaman. Trained at 
G. L. N. T. S.; to Philadelphia; to New York. 
Made four trips on S. S. Pioneer with armed 
guard gun crew. First, second and third trips 
were round trips touching at Liverpool. Le 
Havre, Rouen, and then back to Plymouth; 
fourth trip to Gibraltar, Algiers, Tunis, Brez- 
erta. Island of Malta, and Gibraltar. Left 
Gibraltar for New York on S. S. Pioneer; 
landed at Bayonne, New Jersey; to Brooklyn; 
at Brooklyn transferred to the U. S. S Gamble. 
To Cuba; to Norfolk; to Boston; to Rockland, 
Maine; to Boston to convoy President Wilson'.s 
ship, the George Washington, into harbor; to 
Norfolk: to Key West; to Cuba; to New York. 



Transferred to U. S. S. Welles. Mustered out 
August 30, 1919. On September 2, 1919, le- 
enlisted for two years. 



BREYFOGI.E, FORREST MCKINI.EY 

Alta 
Born January 2, 1900. Enl. October 11, 
1918. Pvt. Student Army Training Corps. 
Trained at Buena Vista College, Storm Lake, 
Iowa. Mustered out December 13, 1918. Died 
of scarlet fever October 2, 1919. 



BREYFOGI.E, IIIIERI.E ECWARD 

Alta 
Born September 20, 1898. Enl. May 7, 1917. 
seaman on U. S. S. Wisconsin. Promoted from 
apprentice seaman to seaman. Trained at 
Newport, Rhode Island; sent to receiving ship 
at Boston; to New York; to U. S. S. Wiscon- 
sin, general service on U. S. S. Wisconsin, 
cruising on Atlantic Coast, the work of the 
ship being to train naval men for service; 
cruised in summer of 1919 for midshipman 
training. Mustered out at G. L. N. T. S., 
August 3, 1919. 

BRISTOIi, JOTHAM IM. 

SSarathon 
Born April 2, 1900. Pvt. Student Array 
Training Corps. Trained at Buena Vista Col- 
lege. Storm Lake. Iowa. Enl. October 11, 1918. 
Mustered out December 13, 1918. 

BROVTN, CI.AUDE E. 

Hayes Township 
Born June 2. 1892. Enl July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. C, 11th Regt. Marine Corps. Trained at 
Paris Island. On September 15 ordered to 
Quantico. September 29. sailed from Phila- 
delphia on U. S. S. De Kalb; landed at Brest, 
October 13. To Mehun; to Gievres on guard 
duty; to Brest on July 15, 1919; to Camp Hosp. 
No. 33, where he underwent an operation for 
appendicitis. Sailed from Brest on U. S. S. 
Agamemnon, August 10; landed at Hoboken, 
August 18. To naval hosp. until August 24. 
To Quantico, where he was mustered out on 
September 13, 1919. 

BRUKN, FRED 
Storm Iiake 

Born May 11. 1893. Enlisted July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl., Co. C, 316th Regt. 79th Div. 
Trained at Camp Gordon and St. Georges, 
France. Promoted from pvt. to pvt. Ist-cl. 
To Camp Merritt. Sailed from New York on 
the U. S. S. Plattsburg, August 29; landed 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



33 



at Brest, September 13. To St. Georges for 
training; to Verdun; in Meuse-Argonne offen- 
sive; in Battle of Grande Montagne. Sailed 
from St. Nazaire on U. S. S. Texan, May 16, 
1919; landed at Philadelphia, May 29. To 
Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out, 
June 8, 1919. 



Barracl\s. Sailed for France, November 12, 
1917, on Madawaslva; landed at St. Nazaire. 
To Issurtille; to Hosp. No. 119 at Saveney on 
account of sinusitis. Sailed from St. Nazaire 
on the Manchuria, May 11, 1919; landed at 
New Yorli. May 21, 1919. To Camp Merritt; to 
Fort Sheridan. 



BRYANT, WUiIiIAM F. 
Sulphur Springs 

Born January 16, 1882. Knl. April 13, 1917. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Engineers, Railroad Reserve. 
Trained at Municipal Pier, Chicago. Sailed 
from New York, July 22, 1917, on R. M. S. St. 
Louis; landed at Liverpool, August 1. To 
Borden Camp, paraded in London August 15, 
with 1st U. S. troops in London; to Le Havre, 
France, August 17. To Chalons-sur-Marne 
for two weeks; to Fleury-sur-Aire until April, 
1919; to Marseilles. Sailed on U. S. S. Bel- 
videre; landed at New York. April 28. To 
Camp Merritt; to Chicago for Parade; to Camp 
Grant. Mustered out May 12, 1919. 

BRYNGEI-SON, CHABIiEY A. 

Iiinn Grove 
Born June 12, 1888. Enli.sted September 20, 
1917. Pvt. Co. G, 26th Inf., 1st Div, Trained 
at Camp Dodge and Camp Pike. From Camp 
Pike to port of embarkation for overseas. 
Sailed on June 12, 1918; landed in France 
July 1. Arrived on front lines July 19, and 
participated in drive known as the Second 
Battle of the Marne; in St. Mihiel offensive 
from September 12 to 16; in Meuse-Argonne 
offensive from September 26 to November 11; 
on Victory Hike through Germany from No- 
vember 15 to December 20; crossed the Rhine, 
December 13; remained with Army of Occupa- 
tion until August 17, 1919. Sailed from France 
August 23; landed at Hoboken, September 4. 
Paraded in New York City and in Washington. 
D. C, Was in service two years and four days; 
overseas, fourteen months and sixteen days. 
Mustered out at Camp Dodge, September 2-1, 
1919. 

BRYNGEIiSON, EI.MER 
liinu Grove 

Born January 13, 1893. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 211th Engineers. Trained at Camp 
Forrest and at Camp Meade. Mustered out 
January 17, 1919 . 

BVCKINGKAM, RAY D. 
Storm Iiake 

Born July 14, 1892. Enl. September 5, 1917. 
Pvt. Supply Co. 307th Regt., Quartermaster 
Corps, Trained at Fort Logan; at Madison 



BUIiIiARD, FRANCIS EDWARD 
Storm I^ake 

Born August 31, 1885. Enl. January 19. 1918, 
Fireman Ist-cl. on U. S. S. Conner. No special 
training after last enlistment, but had had 
eight years previous service. Served on board 
the U. S. S. Conner. Sailed from New York 
for overseas on May 12, 1918; first port, the 
Azores Islands; to Brest, where he was. sta- 
tioned for the rest of his stay overseas, do- 
ing convoy duty. Left Brest for the United 
States on June 16, 1919; landed at New York, 
June 26, 1919. Released from naval service on 
Jul.v 7, 1919, subject to call in United States 
Xaval Reserve Force. First enlistment Sep- 
tember 7, 1907; discharged on December 2, 1915. 
No real battle engagements. I)ut was in several 
submarine attacks. 



BUKAN, CARI. W. 
Storm Ifake 
Born September 28. 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. in inf. unassigned. Trained at Camp 
Gordon, attended Non-Commissioned Officers* 
Training Scliool. November 1, transferred to 
Camp Shelby. Recommended for promotion to 
sergt. Mustered out December 30, 1918. 



BUMANN, BDWARD C. 
Maple Valley Township 

Born September 14, 1894. Knl. September 9. 
1917. Musician Headquarters Co., 78th Field 
Art., 6th Div. Trained at Fort Logan for five 
weeks, in the 24th Co. Band Barracks; ordered 
to Fort Riley October 21, 1917, at this camp 
the 20th Cavalry originated from the old 13th 
Cavalry which was in service on the Mexican 
border and he was stationed there with the 
cavalry outfit for two weeks; sent to Camp 
Lrigan. Texas, for six months and was with 
the 7Sth Field Art.; to Camp Doniphan; to Fort 
Sill, May. 1918, trained here until July 3; to 
Camp Mills, July 4. Sailed for Liverpool, 
England, July 13; landed July 26, 1918. To 
rest camp at Knotty Ash; to Winchester; to 
Southampton; crossed the English Channel and 
landed at Le Havre. In box cars to Vercel; 
was billeted at Vercel for seven weeks; hiked 
to Camp Valhadon and camped there for six 
weeks; to Liffol-le-Grande; was in reserve for 
the front lines at the time that the armistice 




William H. BurSman George C. Burkmeister 

Wasliington Townsliip Grant Township 



William Karp Burns 
Storm Lake 



Jerry D. Carey 
Storm Lake 




John R. Carey 
Storm Lake 



Ernest O. Carlsen 
Elk Township 



Arthur Carlson 
Albert City 



Arthur Carlson 
Fairfield Township 




Carl Gerhard Carlson 
Albert City 



Carl SiK'H'l < "arlson 
Alta 



Oscar Carlson 
Fairfield Township 



Richard Arthur Carlson 
Alta 




Adolph Carstensen 
Newell 



(.'liai'les I 'arsit-nsen 
Newell 



Acey Caskey 
Sioux Rapids 



Bufonl H. CasUey 
Lincoln Township 




Henry C. Caskey 
Sioux Rapids 



Donald E. Castle 
Alta 



Francis E. Castle Matthew A. Cavanaugh 

Alta Storm Lake 




Lester Henry Challand 
Storm Lake 



Gerald W. Chaney 
Newell 



Osborp'- M. Chaney 
Newell 



Lyell A. Chapman 
Storm Lake 



58 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



was signed; hiked on December 6, for a 
week's hike to Baigneux-le-juifs where he re- 
mained from December 13 to the middle of 
January; left company on account of sick- 
ness on April 6, 1919; sent to Camp Hosp. 
No. 48 at Recy for ten days; to Base Hosp. 
No. 103 for four days; evacuated to Hosp. 
Center at Saveney; to Base Hospital No 113 
for one week; sent to camp near Brest for 
twelve days. Sailed from Brest, May 6; 
landed at Hoboken, May 16. Sent to Base 
Hosp. at Camp Merritt until June 14; sent 
to Gen. Hosp. No. 29 at Fort Snelling for an 
operation. Mustered out July 24, 1919. 



BUMANN, ERNEST E. 
Maple Valley Township 
Born September 10, 1891. Enl. January 20, 
1918. Musician 3d-cl., Headquarters Co.. 350th 
Regt.. 88th Div. Promoted from pvt. to musi- 
cian 3d-cl. Trained at Camp Dodge; trans, 
to Camp Upton. Sailed overseas on S. S. Delta. 
Trained at Semur, France, for five weeks; at 
Chagny for three weeks; to Alsace front; re- 
lieved the 29th Division; then trans, to a 
point near Toul for three weeks; to Menon- 
court; took tour in Southern France; returned 
to Menoncourt for three months; played for 
the sick and the wounded at Toul for one 
week; sent to the Le Mans area; to St. 
Nazaire. Sailed on the Aeolus; landed at 
Newport News. To Camp Dodge. Was with 
the 350th Inf. Band all of the time that he was 
in the service. Mustered out at Camp Dodge. 
June 5, 1919. 

BUMANN, HERMAN' K. 
Maple Valley Township 
Born April 6, 1897. Enl. September 5. 1918. 
Pvt. Motor Transportation Trucks Corps. 
Trained at Camp Dodge for two months; trans- 
ferred to Fort Sam Houston for one month; to 
Camp Normoyle for one month; si^nt )»ack to 
Fort Sam Houston for one month; to Chicago 
Municipal Pier, two weeks; transferred to 
Brenan School for six weeks, for service in 
Motor Transportation Trucks Corps, garage 
work. Mustered out March IS, 1919. at Brenan 
School. 

BUMANN, WII.I.IAM W. 
Maple Valley Township 
Born March 12, 1890. Enl. December 15, 
1917. Musician, 15th Cavalry Troop. Trained 
at Denylas. Arizona, for one and one-half 
months; transferred to Camp Merritt. Sailed 
for France from Hoboken, March 14, 1918; 
landed at Brest, March 26, 1918. Regt. was 
split up on landing and sent to several re- 
mount stations, taking horses to different 



fronts; from March to January 1, 1919, he 
was engaged in this work; entire regiment 
was released from remount duty and trans, 
to military police duty for si.x months. Sailed 
from St. Nazaire, June 8, on Pammusun; 
landed at New York, June 19, 1919. To Camp 
Mills; all members of the band were then 
trans, to Fort D. A. Russell; then trans, to 
Camp Grant. Mustered out July 9, 1919. 

BURCHAM, THOMAS a. 
Stortu Ziake 

Born April 17, 1X91. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, 361st Regt., 91st Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon for six weeks; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed overseas on America, Septeml)er 4; 
landed at Brest, September 14, To rest camp 
three days; to Lunery for tw'o weeks; to 
Rulaire, Belgium; to Odenahr; to Flanders 
front; was at front until armistice was 
signed; moved back to St. Martin and re- 
mained there from December 1 to March 20, 
1919: to St. Nazaire. Sailed from St. Nazaire 
April 3; landed at New York April 14. To 
Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge Mustered out 
at Camp Dodge April 26, 1919. 

BURGETT, KENNETH I.. 
Newell 

Born August 10, 1898. Enlisted October 18, 
1918. Pvt. Co. G, Student Army Training 
Corps. Trained at Iowa State University, 
Iowa City, Iowa. Mustered out December 21, 
1918. 

BURKE, EDWIN E. 
Poland Township 
Born August 23, 1898. Enl. January 14, 
1918. Wagoner, Aviation (Army) in Motor 
Headquarters Dei)ot, 104th Ammunition Train, 
29th Div. Trained at Camp McClellan for two 
weeks; at Kelly Field from February to May 
1, 1918. Promoted from pvt. to wagoner, July, 
1918. Sailed from Hoboken, June 29; landed 
at Gilburg, July 21, 1918. To Cherbourg. To 
Poitiers one month for training; to Camp de 
Mencon from August 25 until November 9; to 
Jussy until March 10, 1919; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed from St. Nazaire on S. S. Fairfax, 
May 11; landed at Newport News, May 21. 
To Camp Mills four days; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out May 27, 1919. 

BURKE, Willi. 

Iiee Township 
Born August 6, 1896. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Marine Corps. Started to Paris Island 
for training but was called back to Cincinnati, 
Ohio. Mustered out at Chicago, November 14, 
1918. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



59 



BUREKOI-DER, EARI. Q. 

Sioux Rapids 

Born December 28. 18'.i5. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. M, 316th Inf., 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon from July 27 until August 24. 
Sailed from Hobol<en on U. S. S. Platt.sburg, 
August 30; landed at Brest. September 12. To 
St. Georges for two weeks; moved to a position 
near Verdun until October 20; received an in- 
jury in his left foot while hilling to lines; 
sent to Base Hosp. No. 43 at Blois, and re- 
mained there until November 2.^; to St. Aisrnan 
as a casual: to St. Nazaire. Sailed on S. S. 
Finland from St. Nazaire, December 28; 
landed at Newport News January 9, 1919. To 
Camp Hill until January 19; to Camp Dodge, 
arrived January 22. Mustered out at Camp 
Dodge, January 29, 1919. 



BURKKAN, VrrLIiIAM H. 

'W'asliing'ton Tcwuship 
Born January 20, 1895. Enl. May 28. 1918. 
Corp. Bat. A, 337th Field Art.. SSth liiv. 
Trained at Camp Dodge, left Camp Dodge for 
Camp Mills. Promoted from pvt. to corp. 
Sailed from New York, August 18. Landed at 
New York, on return from overseas, January 
19, 1919; sent to the U. S. with Casual Detach- 
ment No. 51. Mustered out January 31, 1919. 



BUSBY, RAY 
Storm Iiake 

Born November 21. 1891. Enlisted Septem- 
ber 7, 1918. Pvt. Co. E, 161st Inf., 41st Dlv. 
Trained at Camp Gordon. Sailed overseas, 
October 26, 1918; landed at Liverpool, Novem- 
ber 4, 1918. 

CAREY, JERRY D. 
Storm Iiake 

Born February 24. 1896. Enl. April 7, 1917. 
Corp. Co. Headquarters, 168th Regt.. 42d Div. 
Promoted from pvt. to corp. April 1, 1919. 
Trained at Cherokee, Iowa; to Des Moines, 
Iowa; to Camp Mills. Sailed from New York 
on U. S. S. President Grant. October 18, 
1917; returned to port, October 28; sailed again 
on English transport. November 14; landed at 
Liverpool. To Winchester; to Southampton; 
to Le Havre. To Langres; to Baccarat; en- 
tered line of fighting at Baccarat in Luneville 
sector. February 22; to Lorraine front; to 
Champagne. July 1; to Chateau-Thierry, July 
22 to August 5; to St. Mihiel, September 12; 
to Argonne, October 12; to Sedan, on the line 
when the armistice was signed; went to Ger- 
many to become a part of the Army of Occu- 
pation at Nieder Breisig; left Germany for 
Brest, March G, 1919. Sailed from Brest on 
V. S. S. Leviatlian, April 18; landed at New 
York April 26. To Camp Upton to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out May 16, 1919. 



BTTRMEISTER, G-EORGE C. 

Grant Township 

Born May 29, 1895. Enl. January 3. 1918. 
Pharmacist's Mate 3d-cl., Hosp. Corps. Trained 
at G. L. N. T. S. for thirteen months; trans, 
to Chelsea Naval Hosp.; to Ammunition Depot. 
Hingham. Massachusetts; to U. S. S. Delaware; 
on February 16, 1919, sailed from Boston to 
Cuba; to Martinique; to Fort de France; to 
Tangiers Sound for battle practice; trans, to 
U. S. S. Rhode Island; to San Francisco by 
way of Panama Canal; detained at Balboa 
thirty days on account of broken propeller 
shaft, then proceeded to San Francisco with 
one propellei". Mustered out at St. Louis, Sep- 
tember 22, 1919. 



BURNS, WII.I.IA]yi EARF 

Storm I^ake 

Born November 23. 1888. Enl. October 28, 

1918. Second Lieut., Sanitary Corps. Trained 

at Yale Army Laboratory School. Mustered 

out December 20, 1918. 



CAREY, JOHN R. 

Storm Iiake 
Born December 18, 1891. Attended Second 
Reserve Officers' Training Corps at Fort Snel- 
ling in 1917, and was given an honorable dis- 
charge for physical disability. Enlisted June 
12. 1918. Pvt., Central Headquarters Co. of 
Tank Corps. Trained at Gettysburg, Pennsyl- 
vania, and at Tobyhanna. Pennsylvania. Sailed 
from New York on R. M. S. Orenteo, September 
25. 191S; landed at Liverpool October 8. To 
Southampton; left Southampton for Cherbourg, 
October 10; landed at Cherbourg. October 11. 
Trans, to 1st Provisional Depot Co. Tank 
Corps and convoy work between tank center 
at Varrennes; trans, to 302d Center Casual 
Detachment on November 13 in order to Join 
"Tank Corps Follies" which toured nearly all 
American camps for the entertainment of sol- 
diers; trans, to 302d Center Headquarters on 
March 1, 1919; left Bourg on March 8; to St. 
Nazaire, March 11. Sailed from St. Nazaire 
on U S. S. Philippines, March 20; landed at 
New York, April 3. In tank parade in New 
York City. To Camp Meade, April 12; paraded 
in Washington, D. C, and Baltimore; to Camp 
Grant. Mustered out April 23, 1919. 



6o 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



CABI.SEN, ERNEST O. 

Elk Townsliip 

Born January 11, ls:)3. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, 316th Inf., 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon in 4th Replm. Regt. for 6 weeks; 
to Camp Merritt. Sailed from Newport News, 
August 29, on U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed at 
Brest September 12. Trans, to 132d Iiif. at 
St. Georges, trained here for three weeks; 
trans, to Co. 305, Military Police, 79th Div.; 
two weeks afterwards was transferred to Co. 
E, 31Cth Inf., 79th Div.; Joined the 316th Inf. 
north of Verdun; was wounded in Verdun 
sector November 4; sent to Base Hospital No. 
900; four months in Southern France; joined 
Co. E., 316th Inf., south of Verdun: to \V;ily; 
to St. Nazaire. Sailed from St, Nazaire, May 
17, 1919. on U. S. S. Texan; landed at Phila- 
delphia, May 30. To Camp Dix; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 8, 1919. 



CABI.SON, ARTHUR 

Albert City 
Born February 10. 1SS7. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Sailed from New York on the 
U. S. S. Plattsburg, September 1, 1918; landed 
at Brest, September 13. Sent to Fort Napo- 
leon; to St. George, where he left the inf. and 
was transferred to the General Headquarters 
at Valbonne, Aisne; to Clamecy; to Le Mans 
Rifle and Pistol Camp. Sailed from Brest, 
July IS. 1919. on the F. J. Luckenbach. 
Mustered out August 8, 1919. 



CARI.SON, ARTHUR C. 

Fairfield Township 

Born January 9, 1897. Enl, September 13, 
1917. Pvt. Mach Gun Co., 61st Regt., 5th Div. 
Trained at Fort Logan; to Gettysburg, Penn- 
sylvania; October 5, to Camp Greene; April 
9. to Camp Merritt. Sailed overseas, April 16 
on the Czar; landed at Brest, April 28. To 
Bar-sur-Aube; to camp near Gerardmer; to 
front lines in Colmer sector; in Vosges Moun- 
tains; to Locud sector; to St. Die sector until 
October 23; to St. Mihiel sector; ordered 
south of Tou! to Montfaucon; in Argonne 
Forest, in attack from October 12 until Octo- 
ber 22; to Malincourt, October 27; in attack 
southwest of Brielles. took Dun-sur-Meuse, and 
remained there until November 11; to Radauge, 
Luxemburg; to Brest. Sailed from Brest on 
Aquatanion, July 13, 1919; landed at Camp 
Mills, July 20. To Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out July 28. 1919. 



CARIiSON, CARIi GERHARD 

Albert City 

Born March 7, 1891. Enlisted June 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. 1, 351st Inf., 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; to Camp Mills. Sailed on 
Gueleses, August 16; landed at Liverpool. 
To Southampton; to Cherbourg. Trained at 
Hancourt for 'twenty days; in line at Belfort 
front until October 29; back to Belfort for 
eleven days; to Toul until November 30; to 
Hudailcourt until May 10; to Le Mans area; 
to San Husain; to port of embarkation. Sailed 
May 20, 1919; landed at Newport News. To 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 7, 1919. 

CARI.SON, CARI. SIGURD 

Alta 
Born November 21, 1897. Enl. September 20. 
1917. Pvt. Co. C, 168th Inf., 42d Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge for two months; to Camp Cody 
for eight months; to Camp Merritt. Sailed 
from New York June 28, 1918; landed at Glas- 
gow. Crossed England by train; crossed Chan- 
nel to Le Havre. In Aisne-Marne offensive 
July 26 to August 6; in St. Mihiel offensive 
September 12 to September 16; in Meuse-Ar- 
gonne offensive September 26 to November 
11; after armistice was signed went with 
Army of Occupation to Ramagen,. Sailed 
from Brest in April. 1919; landed in United 
States in April, 1919. To Camp Mills; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out May 12, 1919. 

CARI.SON, GOTTFRIED R. 

Newell 
Born July 25. 1890. Enl. April 6, 1917. 
First Sergt. Co. H. 168th Inf., 42d Div. 
Trained at Sioux City, Iowa. Sailed from New 
York on U. S. S. President Grant, October 
6; returned on October 13, on account of dis- 
abled ship; sailed again on H. M. S. Baltic, 
November 1 ; landed at Liverpool, November 
11. To Southampton on November 15; to Le 
Havre. To Langres; to Baccarat sector until 
May 17, 1918; went over the top in six major 
engagements; to Champagne front from May 
23 until July 19; fought in Champagne offen- 
sive; to Chateau-Thierry from July 23 to July 
29. advancing all of these six days; wounded 
at Sergy on July 29; sent to First Aid Sta- 
tion No. 105; to Base No. 26; Convalescent 
Camp at St. Goraine; to Langres as an in- 
structor in infantry at army school; recalled 
and joined regt. for Argonne drive for 19 days 
until November 11; sent to Tours to check 
records; back to regt. March 23, 1919. Sailed 
with 42d Div. convalescents on Mercia, April 
26; landed in the United States May 7. To 
Camp Upton and waited for regiment to arrive. 
Mustered out May 19, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



6i 



CAKLSON, OSCAR 

Fairfield To'wuship 
Born August 27, 1891. Enl. June 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, 350th Inf., 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; to Camp Upton. Sailed on Delta, 
Augu.st 11; landed at London, August 25. To 
<_'ainp Woodlej'; to Southampton; to Cheriiourg. 
To .Semur; trained at Hericourt; to Alsace front 
about tliree weel^s; was on way to Metz when 
tlie armistice was signed; to Malancourt five 
months; to Saint Husani. Sailed on U. S. S. 
Asleus, May 19, 1919; landed at Newport News 
May 30, 1919. Mustered out June 5, 1919. 



CARIiSON, RICHARD ARTHUR 

Alta 
Born November 24. 1894. Enl. August 28, 
1918. Private Auxiliary Remount Depot 323. 
Trained at Camp Funston, Co. 14, 164th Depot 
Brigade, from August 28 to October 11; to 
Auxiliary Remount Depot 323 from October 11 
to May 14, 1919. Mustered out May 14, 1919. 



CARSTENSEN', ADOI.FH 

Newell 
Born December 17, 1892. Enl. June 24, 1918. 
Fireman on U. S. S. Beaver. Trained at G. L. 
N. T. S. Did service in Canal Zone. Patrol 
duty on U. S. S. Beaver. Mustered out July 5, 
1919. 

CARSTEKSEN, CKARI.ES 

Ne-well 
Born August 10, 1895. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Sergt. Co. B, 214th Engineers. 14th Div. Trained 
at Camp Forrest three months; to Camp 
Custer. Promoted from pvt. to sergt. In inf. 
training, bridge construction, and pontoon 
worli. Mustered out February 11, 1919. 



CASKEY, BT7FORD H. 

Xiincoln Township 

Born November lli. 1S9(1. Knlistod July 11, 
1918. Seaman 2d-cl., Co. 7, 4th Regt. Trained 
at G. L. N. T. S. from July 23 to August 31, 
191S; to Bremerton Navy Yard; assigned to 
U. S. S. West Maximus, January 15, 1919. 
Mustered out January 23, 1919. 



30; landed at Brest September 14. Sent to 
hosp. at St. Bruic until October 15; returned 
to Brest and joined a casual co.; moved to Le 
Mans on rifle range until October 25; to Conlie; 
to Toul sector but did not get to front, was in 
Toul sector until November 17; hilled to 
Choilley. November 25 and remained there until 
March 15, 1919. Sailed from Bordeaux on the 
Antonio Lopez, May 1 ; landed at New Yorl<. To 
Camp Upton; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
May 26, 1919. 



CASKEY, HENRY C. 

Sioux Rapids 
Born March 20, 1898. Enl. April 20, 1917. 
Seaman in Navy. Trained at G. D. N. T. S. five 
days; to Navy Yard. Portsmouth, New Hamp- 
shire until July 6, 1917; for ship training was 
sent to battleship Nebraslia. July 8. 1917, re- 
mained on ship two and one-half montlis; to 
Norfolli. September 21; on S. S. Monplace, 
December 1; left on first trip December 3. 1917; 
made four trips between Norfoll< and Bordeaux 
and between Norfolli and Nantes. Mustered 
out August 9, 1919. 



CASTI.E, DONAI.I) E. 

Alta 
Born February 23, 1896. Enl. May 23, 1917. 
Musician Ist-cl. in the G. L. N. T. S. Batt. 
Band. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. Promoted 
from 2d-cl. to Ist-cI. musician. Mustered out 
March 1, 1919. 



CASTI,E, FRANCIS E. 

Alta 

Born September 23, 1896. Enl. July 17. 1918. 
Seaman on U. S. S. Astoria. Trained at G. L. 
N. T. S. for 2 months; trans, to Philadelphia; 
to New Y'orlv; to Louisville for two'weel^s; to 
Brooklyn. Trans, to U. S. S. DeKalb; sailed to 
Brest. Trans, to the destroyer Worthington; 
sent to Plymouth, England; to Cardiff, Wales; 
to Barry, Wales. Trans, to the U. S. S. Astoria; 
sailed to St. Nazaire, France; sent back to 
Barry, Wales; to Queenstown, Ireland; to 
Azores Island; to Norfollv, Virginia; to Ports- 
mouth, New Hampshire. Ordered to G. L. N. 
T. S. to be mustered out. Mustered out August 
16, 1919. 



CASKEY, ISAAC 
Sioux Rapids 

Born May 18, 1892. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. P, 325th Inf., 82d Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon from July 25 to August 25. Sailed 
from Hoboken on U. S. S. Plattsburg, August 



CAVANAVG-H, MATTHEW A. 

Storiu liake 
Born February 15, 1892. Enl. July 27, 
1918. Sergt. Headquarters Co.. Gen. Head- 
quarters American Expeditionary Forces, 




Julian N. Cheney 
Newell 



Alfred O. Christensen 
Elk Township 



Chris A. Christensen 
Xewell 



Chris M. Christensen 
Newell 




\^m^ * 




Clara Eugenie Christensen Clarence P. Christensen 
Sioux Rapids Newell 



David Christensen 
Newell 



Gus A. Christensen 
Sioux Rapids 




Jens Mathiesen Christensen Carl Emil Chrlstenson O. Aron Christensen 

Newell Sioux Rapids Sioux Rapids 



Victor Christenson 
Sioux Rapids 




Victor Christenson Morris Edj^ai" Tiiristian Isaac Martin Christianson 

Sioux Rapids Alta Remlirandt 



Glenn S. Claiiaugh 
Sioux Rapids 




DeLoss \V. Clark 
Newell 



K;dric Fo5s C'arli William ilcKinley Clark Harley H. Claus 

Alta Alta Sioux Rapids 





J 



Carl G. G. Clement Jesse Artiuir Cleveland 

Fairfield Township Linn Grove 



uscar Cleveland 
Barnes Township 



it-mgi- liicliaid t^'oakley 
Storm Lake 



64 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



Chaumont. France. Trained at Camp Gordon, 
assigned to Co. D, 4th Replm. Inf. Regt.; pro- 
moted to Co. Clerk on October 19 and trans, to 
Co. 22 as Special Duty Man; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed from New York, October 26; landed 
November 8. On arrival in France, assigned to 
Co. C, Gen. Headquarters American Expedition- 
ar.v Forces, at Chaumont. Arrived at New 
York, June 25, 1919. To Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out July 3, 1919. 



CHAI.I.AND, I.i:STER HENBT 
Storm Iiake 
Born January 23, 1894. Enl. February 24, 
1918. Pvt. Co. 45, 20th Engineers. Trained at 
Camp Dodge with Co. E, 351st Inf., 88th Div.; 
ordered to Camp, American University, Wash- 
ington, D. C. ; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from 
Hoboken on the President Lincoln, May 10, 
1918; landed at Brest, May 23. Set out for rest 
camp three miles from Brest; May 31 started 
for front, but were switched off at Bazoilles. 
thirty kilometers from front and put to work 
in the woods cutting wood and remained there 
until August 5: to Rennes. August 9, pitched 
tents and worked on a sawmill and four kilo- 
meters of railroad; left for Grancourt Septem- 
ber 20; arrived at Grancourt, September 
24, worked in stone quarry night and 
day, could see airplanes and hear the roar of 
guns about twenty kilometers away, remained 
at this place until November 3; trans, then 
from Co. D, 72d Engineers to the 45th Co.. 20th 
Engineers; left Grancourt for St. Maurice, 
November 3, worked making a sawmill and 
tearing down a sawmill until after the armis- 
tice was signed; left for Lamarche, December 
1; arrived at Lamarche DfCember 2, worked 
in woods and sawmill until January 13, 1919; 
to Bordeaux, worked in woods logging; May 
13, left Ponteraz; to Bordeaux. Sailed from 
Bordeaux on Luckenbach, May 17; landed June 
1. Mustered out June 9, 1919. 

CKANEY, CARI.TON I.. 

Newell 
Born April 18, 1892. Knl. June 23, 1918. Pvt. 
Coast Art. Trans, to Paymaster, Quarter 
Master, on account of physical disability. 
Trained at Fortress Monroe. Mustered out 
February 12, 1918. 

CHANEY, GEBAXD W. 

Newell 

Born October 5. 1894. Enl. July 24, 191S. 
Sergt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon; attended a Non-Commissioned 
Officers' School. Promoted from pvt. to sergt. 
Mustered out December 24, 1918. 



CHANEY, OSBORNE M. 
Newell 

Born March 13, 1S90. Enl. May 25. 191S. Pvt. 
Ist-class. Concentration Brigade, 820th Aero 
Squadron. Trained at Austin. Texas, Ground 
School. With Examining Board at Kelly Field 
Promoted to pvt. Ist-cl. Mustered out January 
25. 1919. 

CHAPMAN, I.YEI.I. A. 
Storm Ziake 

Born August 1, 1887. Enl. September 5, 1917. 
Second Lieut., Co. M, 126th Inf., 32d Div. 
Promoted from pvt. to sergt., November 9, 
1917; to 2d lieut., June 1, 1918. Trained at 
Camp Dodge and Camp Pike; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed overseas, August 24; landed at Liver- 
pool, September 4. To Southampton. Septem- 
ber 4; to Le Havre, France, September 7. To 
St. Aignan, September 11; assigned to 32d Div., 
September 16 at Joinville; September 21 to 
Camions; to Bois de Lavois to reserve line, 
September 26; September 30 to front line west 
and north of Montfaucon; captured Lagrange 
farm: to Gesnes; to Cierges; relieved October 
7. by 125th Inf. coming into support position; 
to Base Hosp. No. 45 at Beaune; rejoined regi- 
ment at Bois de Montfaucon, November 3; 
moved to Breheville in support of the 5th 
Div. on November 10; relieved the 5th Div. on 
November 13; started for the Rhine on Novem- 
ber 16; entered Germany, December 13; located 
at Rengsdorf; December 28 moved to Weiss 
until April 20; to Brest. Sailed from Brest, 
May 15 on the Imperator; landed at New- 
York, May 28; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
at Camp Dodge, June 11, 1919, 



CHENEY, JULIAN N. 
Newell 

Born June 2, 1899. Enl. October 4. 1918. Pvt. 
Student Army Training Corps. Trained at 
Buena Vista College, Storm Lake, Iowa. 
Mustered out December 13, 1918. 



CHRISTENSEN, AlPRED O. 
Elk TowmsMp 
Born March 2. 1895. Enl. June 26, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. B, 349th Inf., 88th Div. Trained at Camp 
Dodge for eight months; trans, to 19th Div. 
Supply Train; was in 88th Div. for one month 
and was then trans, to 163d Depot Brigade; 
then trans, to above named supply train; to 
Detroit, Michigan, for convoy work between 
Detroit and Chicago for three weeks; from 
Chicago sent back to Camp Dodge; then to 
Camp Lewis for mustering out. Mustered out 
February 26, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



CHRISTENSEN, CKARI.Ii: J. 
Slk Township 

Born Marcli 19, isxr,. [•:,,]. August 6. HUs. 
Pvt. Ist-cl,. H Troop. IJth Cav. Enl. at Chicago 
as pvt. in cav. replm. outfit: trained at Jeffer-son 
Barracks for two months: trans, to Pamma. 
Illinois, to Regular Army. H Troop. 12th Cav.. 
here he was promoted to pvt. Ist-cl. and was 
in training at this cav. post for eight months; 
to Camp Grant. Mustered out June 3, 1919. 



CKRISTENSEN, GTJS A. 
Sioux Rapids 

Born December 4. 18;i4. Enl. April 21. 1917. 
Baker Ist-cl., on U. S. S. Texi^s and U. S. S. 
North Dakota. Trained at Great Lakes Naval 
Training Station. Promoted from baker 3d-cl. 
to haker Ist-cl. Service cruising in south sea 
waters: served seven months on board the 
U. S. S. Texas and on the U. S. S. North 
Dakota — the first dreadnaught to pass through 
the Panama Canal. 



CHRISTENSEM', CHRIS M. 
Newell 

Born March 19, 1889. Enl. June 25, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. K. 5th Replm. Inf. Trained at Camp 
Gordon. 



CHRISTENSEN, CHRIS A. 
Newell 

Born October 30, 1886. Enl. Jul.v 7. 1917. 
Mechanic, Co. B. 42d Regt.. 12th Div. Trained 
at Fort Logan: Fort Douglas: Camp Dodge. 
On guard duty at Tocahoe, New Jersey, from 
March 25. 191S, to July 4, 1918: in Camp 
Devens until November 25: in Camp Upton 
until June 14, 1919. Mustered out at Camp 
Dodge, June 16, 1919. 



CHRISTENSEN, CIiARENCE P. 

Newell 

Born December 18. 1893. Enl. December 
10, 1917. Mechanic, Co. 312, Aero Squadron. 
Trained at Fort Logan, Kelly Field, Camp 
Hempstead, Brooklyn, Paris Institute, at Me- 
chanics School, St. Paul, at Washington, D. 
C. and Bowling Field. Mustered out Septem- 
ber 2. 1919. 



CHRISTENSEN, (Miss) CI.ARA EVGENIE 

(Nurse) 

Sioux Rapids 

Born December IS. 1892. Trained at Camp 

Taylor in United States Army Nurse Corps. 

Mustered out December 19, 1918. 



CHRISTENSEN, DAVID 
Newell 

Born May 7, 1895. Enl. June 15, 1918. Musi- 
cian Ist-cl. Headquarters Co.. Military B:ink. 
Motor Trans. Corps. Trained at Training 
Dept., Ames State School, Valparaiso, Indiana, 
promoted to musician first-class. Mustered 
out December 21, 1918. 



CHRISTENSEN, JENS MATHIESEN 
Newell 

Born August 4. 1890. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B. 9th Inf., 2d Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon with Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. 
Sailed from Hoboken, September 14, on the 
English ship Olympic: landed at Southampton, 
September 21. Stayed in England until Sep- 
tember 30; crossed the English Channel and 
landed at Le Havre, October 1. Went through 
the camp at Le Mans; ordered to La Bazon to 
Co. B, 49th Inf., trained with them for two 
weeks; left on the 17th of October to join the 
5th Div. on Meuse-Argonne front: sent to Co. 
E, 11th Inf., was in reserve from October 25 to 
the night of November 4; crossed the Meuse 
river on the morning of the 5th and went for- 
ward until the signing of the armistice; on 
November 15, transferred to Co. C, 23d Inf., 2d 
Div.; made the hike to Vallander on the Rliine, 
Germany, arriving there December 20, 1918; 
billeted at Vallander on the Rhine until April 
10. 1919; transferred to Co. B, 9th Inf„ 2d 
Div.. stationed at Bendorff at that time, but 
moved on April 19, to the outpost line of the 
American Zone, vacated by the 32d Div.; at 
Stiemel; to Westewald until July 15, when he 
left for Brest. Reached Brest, July 19. Sailed 
on the U. S. S. Princess Matoka. July 23; landed 
at Hoboken, August 1. To Camp Merritt; 
paraded with the 2d Div. in New York, August 
8; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out August 14, 
i;il». 

CHRISTENSEN, JOHN 

Newell 
Born November 11, 1888. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at Camp 
Gordon and at Camp Dodge. Mustered out Jan- 
uary 9, 1919. 

CHRISTENSEN, OI.E J. 
Providence Township 

Born January 25. 1891. Enl. March 7, 1918. 
Mechanic, Co. 3, Coast Art. Trained at St. 
Louis, near Jefferson Barracks: on Mai'ch 25, 
ordered to Fort Moultrie. Mustered out May 
9, 1919. 



66 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



CHRISTENSEN, WAJCTER 

Scott Toxmship 
Born July 23, 1889. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. 1st Train. Batt. Engineers. Trained at 
Camp Forrest for five months; transferred to 
212th Engineers, to 213th Engineers in first 
support. In Company G to Company H. to 
25th Casualty Company at Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out January 6. 1919. 

CHBISTENSEIT, CABIi EMU^ 
Sioux Rapids 
Born May 12, 1899. Enl. May 2, 1917. Baker 
2d-cl., in transport service. Trained at G. L. 
N. T. S. and at Dunwoody Institute. Promoted 
from apprentice seaman to baker 2d-cl. In 
transport service made trips to Brest, St. 
Nazaire and Bordeaux. Prance. Made thirteen 
round trips to Europe. Mustered out August 
1, 1919. 

CHRISTENSEN, O. ARON 
Sioux Rapids 

Born March ID, 18116. Knl. November 9, 
1917; began active service on August 14, 1918. 
First Lieut, in Medical Reserve Corps, Medical 
Corps. Promoted from pvt. to 1st lieut. 
Trained at Army Training Detachment, Des 
Moines College: at Ft. Leavenworth. Decem- 
ber 17, 1918, for one month's training; pro- 
moted to Dental Assistant August 14. 1918; 
received first lieutenant's commission Jan- 
uary 31, 1919. Mustered out January 21, 
1919. 

CRRISTEM-SEN, VICTOR EDWIN 
Sioux Rapids 
Born November 22, 1898. Enl. April 12, 1917. 
Cook Ist-cl. Promoted from landsman baker 
to baker 2d-cl, to baker Ist-cl, to cook Ist-cl. 
Trained at G. L. N. T. S. At the G. L. N. 
T. S. during entire term of enlistment. 
Mustered out February 18, 1919. 

CHRISTENSEN, VICTOR R. 
Sioux Rapids 

Born December 19, 1889. Enl. May 10. 1917. 
Chief Gunner's Mate (A) in Aviation Branch of 
Navy. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. from May 10 
to September 19, 1917; to Charleston, South 
Carolina from September 19 to July 4, 191.S; 
to Bay Shore, Long Island, from July 4. 1918. 
to December 1, 1918; at Brunswick, Georgia, 
from December 1 until August 8, 1919. Pro- 
moted from fireman 3d-cl. to fireman 2d-cl; 
to gunner's mate 3d-cl., to gunner's mate 2d- 
cl.; to gunner's mate Ist-cl., to chief gunner's 
mate (A). Sent to Minneapolis for discharge. 
Mustered out August 12, 1919. 



CHRISTIAN, MORRIS EDG-AR 

Alta 
Born March 2. 1891. Enl. July 22, 1918. 
Corp in Cos. 49, 45 and 9, 163d Depot Brigade. 
Promoted from pvt. to corp. Trained at Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out December 12, 1918. 



CHRISTIANSEN, JAMES G-EORGE 

Ne^well 
Born December 16, 1893. Enl. April 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 29th Batt., United States Guards. 
Trained at Camp Dodge and Fort Snelling, 
On guard duty in Chicago Quarter Master 
Buildings. Mustered out Decenilier 19. 1918. 



CHRISTIANSON, ISAAC MARTIN 
Rembrandt 

Born November 16, 1895. Enl. February 23. 
1918, Pvt. Ist-cl., Co. B, 39th Inf., 4th Div. 
Trained at Camp Green. Sailed from Hoboken 
on Italian ship Dansi Alghieri Ma.v 10; landed 
at Brest May 25. To Chateau-Thiery offensive, 
July 15. when this offensive was launched 
the 39th Inf. was moved from its training area 
at Acy to take its place in the front line for 
the first time; at Second Battle of the Marne, 
Vesle sector; at St. Mihiel operation; in Meuse- 
Argonne offensive where he received three 
wounds; was with the Army of Occupation in 
Germany. Sailed from Brest. July 30. 1919. on 
the Leviathan; landed at Hoboken, August 6. 
To Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out August 13, 1919. 



CI.ABATTGH, GI.ENN E. 

Sioux Rapids 
Born October 13, 1895. Enl. April 24, 1917. 
Pvt. Co. C, 16th Inf., 1st Div. Trained at 
Fort Logan from April 24 to May 8; to El 
Paso, Texas, from May 111 to June 2. Sailed 
from Hoboken on transport Havana, June 12, 
1917; landed at St. Nazaire, France, June 26. 
To Gondrecourt until October 10; moved to 
Lorraine front October 5; trans, to De Mouse, 
October 25; moved to Toul sector January 5, 
1918; in Toul sector forty-five days; moved 
to Ligney, February 20; to Montdidier. April 
15; to Soissons July 15 and took part in the 
battle of Soissons on July 18; wounded by 
shrapnel in right foot on that day; taken to 
field hosp.; trans, to base hosp. near Bordeaux 
and was in this hosp. from July 26 until 
December 5; to embarkation hosp. December 7. 
Sailed from Bordeaux on Aeolus December 17, 
as a casual; landed at Newport News, Decem- 
ber 30. Mustered out at Camp Dodge, Janu- 
ary 21. 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



67 



CI.ASK, DE I.OSS W. 

Ne'well 
Born April 7, 1S95. Enl. July 3. 1917. Chief 
Radio Electrician on U. S. S. Illinois. Trained 
at G. L. N. T. S. and at Howard Radio School. 
Three months in war zone on Illinois. Mustered 
out August 1, 1919. 

CI.ABK, EDBIC FOSS 

Alta 
Born January 12, 1893. Enl. July 24. liils. 
Pvt. Co. B, 316th Inf., 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon for one month: to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed on U. S. S. Plattshurg. August 30, 1918; 
landed at Brest. September 12, 1918. Trans, 
to the 163d Inf. for ten days: trans, to 316th 
Inf. and was sent to front on Meuse-Argonne, 
and remained there until the armistice was 
signed; was in attack on Hill 378. remain- 
ing in this sector for about three months; 
moved to various camps in France and then 
went to St. Nazaire. Sailed from St. Nazaire 
on U. S. S. Texan May 16, 1919; landed at 
Philadelphia. May 29, 1919. To Camp Dix; to 
Camp Podge. Mustered out June 8, 1919. 



from June 30 until September 30. 1917; trans, 
to Camp Mills. Sailed on Baltic for France; 
landed in England, December 9. To Brest, 
December 13. To Longecourt. February 23, 
1918; to Alsace-Lorraine. February 26; on 
April 14 relieved Nopmasoine; April 24. back to 
Alsace-Lorraine; June 30. relieved the 77th 
Div.; to rest camp; to Champagne front on 
July 4; on July 20, relieved by French Algiers; 
July 26, at Chateau-Thierry front; August 1, 
relieved by the 26th Div.; on July 28, victim of 
mustard gas; to American Base Hosp. No. 
66; trans, to American Base Hosp. No. 67; to 
American Base Hosp. No. 44; re-assigned to 
company on September 14, when at St. Mihiel 
front; relieved by the 77th Div.; October 15 
to Argonne front; October 18, chlorine-gassed, 
taken to Field Hosp. No. 167; to Gas Hosp. 
No. 1; trans, to American Base Hosp. No. 58; 
to Base Hosp. No. 52 at Remecourt; to Bor- 
deaux on February 15; assigned to casualty 
company of Co. E, 160th Inf. Sailed for the 
United States. March 6. 1919, on the Lucken- 
bach; landed at Base Hosp. No. 5 at New 
York, March 19. To Fort Des Moines, March 
28; then trans, to Camp Dodge for discharge. 
Mustered out April 15. 1919. 



CI.ABK, WII.I.IAM McKINIiEY 

Alta 

Born November 11, 1897. Enl. April 23, 1918. 
Yeoman Ist-cl., District Enrolling Office. Pro- 
moted fi-om yeoman 3d-cl. to yeoman 2il-cl. to 
yeoman Ist-cl. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. 
Mustered out January 31, 1919. 



CIiEMENT, CARI. G. J. 
Fairfield Tcwuship 

Born April 2, 1896. Enl. July 29, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. H, 1st Training Batt. Engineers. Trained 
at Camp Forrest and Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out January 6. 1919. 



CI.AUS, HARI.EY H. 

SlouK Rapids 

Born February 6. 1894. Enl. September 20, 
1917. Sergt. Co. A, 350th Inf., 88th Div. 
Promoted from pvt. to corp., from corp. to 
sergt. Trained at French training camps. 
Sailed from New York on S. S. Delta. August 
11, 1918; landed at London. August 25. Moved 
across the Channel to Cherbourg, France, 
August 28. To Foutry; to Chaguy; went into 
center sector of Haute-Alsace-Lorraine. Octo- 
ber 4; transferred to Toul sector, November 7, 
in offensive when armistice was signed; moved 
to Gondrecourt area until May 7, 1919; to St. 
Nazaire. Sailed from St. Nazaire on U. S. S. 
Aeolus, May 19; landed at Newport News, May 
30. To Camp Dodge. Mustered out at Camp 
Dodge June 5, 1919. 

CZ-EARVTATER, ROY D. 

Albert City 
Born November 17, 1898. Enl. April 10, 1917. 
Pvt. Mach. Gun Co., 168th Inf., 42d Div. Trained 
at State Fair Grounds, Des Moines, Iowa, 



CI.EVEI,AND, JESSE ARTHUR 

Iiinn Grove 

Born September 12, 1896. Enl. September 5, 

1918. Pvt. Inf. in Depot Brigade, Trained at 

Camp Dodge. Mustered out February 25, 1919. 

CI1EVEI.AMD, OSCAR 
Barnes Township 

Born August 18, 1894. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, 316th Regt., 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon in Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt.; 
trans, to Camp Merritt. Sailed from Hoboken 
on U. S. S. Plattsburg, August 29; landed at 
Brest, September 12. To St. George; to Verdun 
sector; to Genicourt. joined Co. F. 316th Uegt., 
79th Div; to Meuse-Argonne front from Octo- 
ber 15 to November 11; at Reiville from No- 
vember 11 until December 30; to Issencourt, 
trans, to Co. A, 316th Regt.. 79th Div. for two 
months; to Orcaron for two weeks; to Henni- 
court three days; to St. Georges; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed on U. S. S. Texan May 16, 1919; 
landed at Philadelphia, May 29. To Camp Dix; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 8, 1919. 




El wood Tliomas Cole 
Storm Lake 



William J, Condon 
Storm Lake 



Harry L. Cone 
Xokomis Town.ship 



George W. Conley 
Newell 




Andrew J. Conne'l 
Providence Township 



Charley J. Connell 
Providence Township 



James W. Connell 
Providence Township 



John R. Connell 
Providence Township 




Thomas Olen Connoy 
Rembrandt 



Daniel K. Cosman 
Storm Lake 



Loigh Cottrw 
Nokomis Township 



Samuel R. Couch 
Newell 




James Freeinaii Cuulsoii William Howard (.'uulsuii 
Storm Lake Newell 



Herman Henrv^ L'ox 
Alta 



(Ulie Craig 
Sioux Rapids 




David B. Crlssey George Dewey Crissey 

Storm Lake Storm Lake 



Howard R. Crissey 
Storm Lake 



Walter E. Crissey 
Storm Lake 




Clarence Eugene Crow Justice M. Crowley Albert H. Cunningham Luther W. Cunningham 

Sioux Rapids Storm Lake Storm Lake Lee Township 



■o 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



COAKIiEV, GEORGE RICHARD 

Storm Iiake 
Born December 31, 1896. Enl. April 3, 1918. 
Mechanic, 1st Co., Coast Art. Trained at Fort 
B'lagler and Fort Logan. Mustered out Janu- 
ary 4, 1919. 



COIiE, EIiWOOD THOMAS 

Storm ]bake 

Born December 12, 1896. Enl. December 11, 
1917. Quarter Master Ist-cl.. 6th Regt.. Avia- 
tion Dept., U. S. Navy. Trained at United 
States Training Station at Great I-alves. Illi- 
nois, and at Philadelphia Navy Yard. Sailed 
from Philadelphia on Olympic, June 15, 1918. 
In overseas service over six months at United 
States Naval Air Station in England near the 
North Sea. Sailed from Liverpool on Levia- 
than: landed at Pelham Bay. New York. To 
Charleston, South Carolina; to Akron, Ohio. 
Mustered out June 2, 1919. 



CONDON, WTLIiIAM J. 
Storm Iiake 

Born March 5, 1889. Enl. April 13. 1917. Pvt. 
Ist-cl., Co. M, 168th Inf., 42d Div. Trained 
at Cherokee; to State Fair Grounds, Des 
Moines, Iowa; to Camp Mills. Sailed for 
Prance on President Grant October 18, 1917; 
returned to port. October 28; sailed again 
November 14 on English ship Celtic; landed 
at Liverpool. To Winchester; to Southampton; 
to Le Havre. To Rimacourt; to Langres: to 
Baccarat; entered line of fighting in Luneville 
sector, Februar.v 21; to Champagne, July 1; to 
Chateau-Thierry, July 22; to St. Mihiel; to 
Argonne Forest; entered Base Hosp. No. 24 at 
Maves. October 5, with blood pionsoning; later 
went to Niederzessen, Germany; to Nieder- 
breisig; to Brest. Sailed on U. S. S. Leviathan 
in May, 1919; landed at New York. To Camp 
Upton; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out May 
17, 1919. 

CONE, HARRY l. 

Nokomis ToTOTiship 
Born December 8, 1896. Enl. September 5. 
1918. Pvt. Inf. Replm. Regt. Trained at Camp 
Dodge for nine months and nine days. Mustered 
out June 14. 1919. 

CONI.EY, GEORGE W. 

Newell 

Born April 10, 1892. Enl. May 7, 1917. 
Second Lieut. Adjt. Gen's. Dept., 81st Div. 
Trained at Camp Cody. Sailed from New 
York on U. S. S. Olympia, October 17, 1918; 



landed at Southampton, October 24. Landed 
at Cherbourg. October 26. To Bordeaux with 
Headtiiuirter.s Co., 34th Div.; in Novembei- .sent 
to Headquarters, 34th Div.; in Gen. Quarter 
Master Headquarters at Chaumont; with Army 
of Occupation in Germany; assigned to 81st 
Div. in June, 1919. Sailed from St. Nazaire 
on June 9; landed at Newport News June 20; 
sailed on S. S. Manchuria. 



CONNEI.I., ANDRE'W S. 

Providence To'vnsliip 

Born September 6, 1888. Enl. October 20, 

1918. Pvt. Veterinary Co. No. 1. Trained at 

Camp Greenleaf. Mustered out at Camp 

Greenleaf December 19, 1918. 



CONNEI.I., CHARIiEY J. 

Providence Township 
Born March 21, 1900. Enl. September 9, 
1819. Pvt. Co. A, Student Army Training 
Corps. Dubuque College. Trained at Dtibuque 
College, Dubuque, Iowa. Mustered out Decem- 
ber 14. 1918. 

CONNEI.I., JAMES W. 
Providence Township 
Born August 17, 1890. Enl. October 1, 1918. 
Sergt., Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon and at Camp Wheeler Officers' 
Training Corps. Mustered out December 24, 
1918. 

CONNEI.I., JOHN R. 
Providence Towusliip 
Born February 4, 1898. Enl. October 1, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, Student Army Training Corps, 
Dubuque College. Trained at Dubuque Col- 
lege, Dubuque, Iowa. Mustered out Decem- 
ber 16. 1918. 



CONNOY, THOMAS OI.EN 
Rembrandt 

Born December 21',, 1892. Enl. February 24, 
1918. Pvt. Ist-cl. Bat. F, 337th Art., 88th 
Div. Trained at Camp Dodge, trans, on April 
12 to 35th Div. Promoted on August 5. 1918. to 
p\'t. Ist-cl. Trained at Rumsley. England, for 
three months; left for Cherbourg. To Sarogona 
for one week; to Bains-les-Bains for three 
weeks; trans, from 35th Div. to the Military 
Police Army Corps, R^-moiint; to St. i\lihiel 
sector for six weeks; to Verdun, armistice was 
signed while here; started following the Ger- 
mans into Belgium; was at Veron. Belgium, 
on Thanksgiving day; left for Luxemburg; to 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



71 



Germany; left March 13 for Metz; to Toul; to 
Chaumont; to Tours; to Le Mans; to Belgium, 
and was on the rifle range at tliis time, quali- 
fied as a sharpshooter. April 1, 1919; to St. 
Nazaire. Sailed April 16; landed at Newport 
News, April 28. To Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out May 7, 1919. 



COSMAir, DAMTEI. K. 

Storm Iiake 
Born December 30, 1887. Knl. August 29, 
1918. Pvt. Service Park Unit No. 503, Motor 
Transport Corps. Trained at Camp Dodge 
and at Fort Sam Houston; taken to the base 
hosp.. October 25. Mustered out January 
24, 1919. 

COTTEW, I.i:lGK 
Alta 

Born June 13, 1887. Enl. July 24. 1!)18. 
Pvt. Co. A, 348th Mach. Gun Batt., 91st Div. 
Trained at Camp Gordon; drilled for five 
weeks; to Camp Merritt, quarantined ten days 
for measles. Sailed overseas on the U. S. S. 
America, September 19; landed at Brest, Sep- 
tember 29. To St. Amand: re-classlfied and 
put into Mach. Gun Batt. and sent to Lunery, 
trained there for three weeks; went to the 
91st Div. where they were camped after re- 
turning from the Argonne battle; hiked to the 
front arriving there the morning the armis- 
tice was signed. His division was given crt-dit 
for the Lys-Mons Battle. Hiked back to 
Houtkerque; to Noce for two and one-half 
months; to Nogent-le-Rotrou; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed from St. Nazaire on U. S. S. Arizona, 
March 25; landed at Hoboken, April 2. To 
Camp Upton for sixteen days; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out April 22, 1919. 



1918; arrived Liverpool January 24. To Camp 
Morn Hill; to Le Havre. To St. Nazaire; 
transferred from Q. M. C. to Co. 324, Motor 
Transport Corps, for convoy work and post 
duty hauling ammunition and supplies to the 
front; took exam, for commission November 
1; commission signed November 11, but with- 
held on account of signing of armistice. 
Sailed from St. Nazaire on S. S. Huron, May 
26, 1919; landed Newport News, June 7. To 
San Francisco. Mustered out June 24, 1919. 



coniiSON, vriz.i.iAM Howard 

Ne'well 
Born July 12, 1895. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Medical Corps. Trained Camp Gordon. 
Sailed from New York, September 13; landed 
France September 25. Sailed on Matzonia. 
Trans, to S. O. S. October 15; stationed at 
Med. Supp. Dep. No. 2, Intermediate Section, 
Gievres. Sailed from Brest on U. S. S. Impera- 
tor July 7, 1919; landed New York July 13, 
1919. To Camp Mills. Mustered nut July 2.5. 1919. 

COX, HERMAN HENRY 
Alta 

Born May 23, 1898. Enl. October 11, 1918. 
Pvt. Inf. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista 
College, Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered out 
December 13. 1918. 



CRAIG, OI.I.IE 
Sioux Rapids 

Born December 23, 1895. Enl. April 2, 1918. 
Pvt. Supp. Co. 87th Inf. 19th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge, April 2 to May 1; to Fort 
Des Moines Hosp., May 1 to June 18; to Camp 
Dodge January 27. 1919. Promoted private to 
wagoner. Mustered out January 27, 1919. 



COUCH, SAMVEI. R. 
Ne'well 

Born February 22, 1892. Enl. December 15, 
1917. Pvt. in Gen. Hosp. Trained for five 
months at Camp Dodge; ordered to Fort Des 
Moines until mustered out. Mustered out 
October 21, 1919. 



COUIiSON, JAMES TREEMAN 

Storni Iiake 
Born August 26, 1883. Enl. June 8, 1917. 
Sergt. in Q. M. E. R. C, M. S. T. 406, Co. 
321, attached to 41st Div. after arrival in 
Prance. Trained at Presidio, near San Fran- 
cisco. Left San Francisco, December 17; 
arrived New York, December 23. Sailed on 
S. S. Carmania from New York, January 8, 



CRANE, CI.ARENCE 

Sioux Rapids 

Born April 12. 1890. Enl. December 6, 1917. 
Pvt. 236th Aero Squadron, A. S. M. A. Trained 
at Southern Field. 

CRISSEY, DAVID B. 
Storm Iiake 
Born April 21, 1896. Enl. April 13, 1917. 
Rejected; re-enlisted April 9, 1918. Corp. Co. 
M, 131st Squadron. Trained Wisconsin State 
University; Wilbur Wright Field; Armour's 
Institute; Taylor Field Plying School. Granted 
promotion. May 7, 1919, on re-enlistment. After 
30 day furlough spent at home in Storm Lake, 
returned to Wright Field, Aviation Repair 
Depot No. 3. 




in 


™ < 

1 



IMaynard V. Cuppy 
Truesdale 



Keiiiiuth L'liarlt'S I'aijyer 
Alta 



Ualph J. 1 'agger 
Alta 



Wilbur Karl Dagger 
Alta 




L-eRoy A. Dake 
Brooke Township 



Harold S. Darr 
Storm Lake 



James \V. Darr 
Lee Township 



Sylvester S. Davidsen 
Storm Lake 




Arthur L. Davis 
Linn Grove 



Earl V. Davis 
Washingrton Township 



Floyd Davis 
Storm Lake 



Gilger E. Davis 
Marathon 




Kollo Ci. L'avis 
Poland Township 



Kdwurd A. I>L't;nur 
Coon Township 



James Lael DeLand 
Storm Lake 



Eva DeUnidge 
Storm Lake 




Mielu-1 X. r>elp 
Storm Lake 



Sam Dennison 
Storm Lake 



AVilliam Deppe 
Storm Lake 



Lloyd L. OeSpain 
Lincoln Township 




Storm Lake 



Georg-e P. Diehl 
Storm Lake 



Arthur A. Dierwechter 
Storm Lake 



Herman ]>okken 
Linn Grove 



74 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



CRISSEY, GEORGE DEWEY 

Storm Ziake 
Born March 30. 1899. Enl. April 7. 1917. Pvt. 
Co. M, 16Sth Inf. 42d Div. Trained: Cherokee, 
Des Moines. Camp Mills. Sailed on President 
Grant. October 18, 1917; returned to U. S. Octo- 
ber 28; sailed again November 14 on English 
ship Celtic; landed Liverpool. To Winchester 
1 week; to Southampton; to Le Havre. To 
Rainacourt; to Langres; to Baccarat; entered 
line of fighting in Luneville sector at Baccarat 
February 22, 1918; to Champagne July 1. 1918; 
to Chateau-Thierry; on the Ourcq; to Hill 
212; wounded in action capturing Sergy, July 
29; sent to Base Hosp. 22 at Bordeaux; to 
Blois; to Le Havre, September 8 to December 
1; to Brest. Sailed from Brest on U. S. S. 
Rhode Island January 2. 1919; landed at New- 
port News January 16. To Camp Hill; to 
Camp Lee; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
February 12, 1919. 



CRISSEY, HOWARD R. 
Stortn I^ake 

Born September 13. 1897. Enl. April 13, 1917. 
Corp. Co. M, Inf. 42d Div. Trained; Cherokee. 
Des Moines, Camp Mills. Sailed on President 
Grant October 18, 1917; returned to port Octo- 
ber 28; embarked November 14 on English 
ship Celtic; landed Liverpool. To Winchester 
for nine days; to Le Havre. To Rimacourt; 
to Langres; to Baccarat; entered line in Lune- 
ville sector February 22; to Champagne July 
1. 1918; Chateau-Thierry July 22 to August 
5; St, Mihiel September 12; to Argonne Octo- 
ber 12; to Sedan on the line when the armistice 
was signed; to Germany with Army of Occupa- 
tion; at Niederzessen from December 16 to 
March 6; to Niederbreisig; to Brest. Sailed 
from Brest on U. S. S. Leviathan, April 18, 
landed New York, April 26. To Camp Upton; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out May 17, 1919. 



CRISSEY, WAI.TER E. 

Storm Ziake 
Born October 4, 19U0. Enl. April 7, 1917. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. M, 168th Inf. 42d Div. Trained: 
Cherokee, Des Moines, Camp Mills. Sailed 
from New York, October 28 on President Grant 
returned to port at New Y'ork, October 28; 
sailed on English boat Celtic November 14; 
landed Liverpool. To Winchester; to Le Havre. 
To Rimacourt; to Langres; to Baccarat; in 
Luneville sector February 22; to Champagne 
July 1; to Chateau-Thierry July 2; wounded in 
action August 1; to Hosp. No. 67; trans, 
to Base Hosp. No. 44; returned to duty October 
30. on front; after armistice to Germany as 
part of Army of Occupation at Niederzlssen; 



left March 6, 1919 for Niederbreisig. Returned 
to U. S. with regiment. Mustered out May 6. 
1919. Re-enlisted in 330th M. T. C. 



CROW, CI.ARENCE EUGENE 
Sioux Rapids 

Born March 1, 1898. Enl. April 20, 1917. 
App. seaman. Trained G. L. N. T. S.; Ports- 
mouth, N. H.; and U. S. S. Rhode Island. 
Detailed to armed guard September 29. Left 
Newport News on S. S. Hawaiian for Genoa. 
Italy; landed January 22, 1918. Returned to 
New Y'ork March 12; left New Y'ork March 17; 
landed New Brunswick; left New Brunswick 
March 31 for Naples; landed April 27; visited 
Rome; steamship torpedoed May 20 (S. S. 
Hawaiian with New Sweden); arrived New 
York June 27; left July 17 for Brest. From 
Brest to Bordeaux; to New York; landed 
August 6; left New York for Bordeaux, August 
17; gas tanks on board ship burned on this 
trip and gassed several members of the crew — 
no fatalities; arrived Bordeaux September 3; 
to New York, September 27; left New York 
October 12; arrived Marseilles October 17; on 
this trip S. S. Lucia torpedoed; October 27 
rammed and sunk S. S. Larch Grove (17 lives 
lost); arrived Marseilles, November 27; sailed 
for New York within month; arrived New 
York December 16; Mustered out on S. S, 
Hawaiian January 28. 1919. Promoted to Sea- 
man 2d-cl.; to Coxswain. 



CROWLEY, JUSTICE M. 
Storm Ziake 
Born November 15, 1887. Enl. June 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. F. 350th Inf. 88th Div. Trained; Camp 
Dodge. Sailed from New York August 11 on 
H. M. S. Delta; landed London August 25. To 
Romsey; to Southampton; to Cherbourg. To 
Seman 3 weeks; to Hericourt; to Haute in 
Alsace sector three weeks; to Andilly on Toul 
sector; to Gondrecourt. December 1; to St. 
Nazaire. Sailed on U. S. S. Aeolus May 17. 
1919; landed at Newport News May 30. 
Mustered out June 5, 1919. 



CROXDAI.E, WAYNE EDWARD 
Truesdale 

Born November 20. 1896. Served one term 
in Navy and enlisted in the Army. May 22, 
1918. Sgt. Ist-cl. Park Battery, Third Corps 
of Artillery. Trained: Fort Logan, 19th Co. 
Art.; Camp Jackson; Camp Wadsworth; Camp 
Hill. Sailed from Newport News on British 
ship Keenan. August 12; landed Liverpool 
August 28. To Southampton; to Le Havre 
August 30. To Angouleme; to Clermont; to 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



75 



Chateau-Thierry; to Carnac; in fighting line 
September 16 to November H; to Saint Juvin; 
to Hericourt until November 20; to Carnac; to 
Sievry: Riniacourt: to Le Mans; to Bi'est. 
Sailed on U. S. S. Missouri, May 27, 1919; 
landed June 8, at Newport News. To Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 23, 1919. 



CROXDAI.E, WHiIiIAM 
Truesdale 

Born May 31, 1891. Enl. as Seaman Co. O, 
7th Regt. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. 



CUNNINGHAM, AIiBERT H. 

Storm Iiake 

Born June 2, 1886. Enl. September 16, 1918. 

1st Lieut, unattached, Engineers. Trained at 

Camp A. A. Humphreys to November 30. 191 S, 

Mustered out November 30, 1918. 



CUNNINGHAM, LUTHER W. 
Iiee 

Born May 28, 1893. Enl. July 26, 1918. Pvt. 
Ist-cl. Co. M, 331st Inf., 83d Div, Trained 
Camp Gordon. Sailed September 14 from 
HoboUen on the Calimiers; landed Brest Sep- 
tember 28. Used in several replm. cos.; two 
trips to Lemburg. Germany, with prisoners of 
war; a member of P. W. E. Co. 271 at Verneuil, 
France; also with P. W. W. Co. 96 at Is-sur- 
Tille; sailed from Brest October 12; arrived 
Hobol<en October 20, made trip on Siboney. 
Mustered out at Camp Dodge, October 25, 1919. 



CUPPY, MAYNARD V. 
Truesdale 

Born November 27, 1896. Enl. September 6, 
1918. Pvt. Co. 56, 141 Bn. Int. 163d D. B. 
Trained at Camp Dodge. Tried to enlist but 
was rejected. Trans, to Hosp. Corps in 1918. 
Mustered out December. 1919, at Camp Slielliy. 



DAGGER, KENNETH CHARI.ES 

Alta 

Born June 5, 1900. Enl. October 10, 1918. 
Pvt. Q. M. C, S. A. T. C. Co. H. Trained at 
Iowa City, Iowa. Mustered out December 19, 
1918. 

SAGGER, RAI.FH J. 

Alta 
Born July 25, 1894. Enl. December 4, 1917, 
Sgt. Mobile Hosp. No. 3. Trained at Fort 
Dogan, Fort Riley, Camp Merritt. Sailed from 



Hoboken June 1, 1918; landed Liverpool June 
25. To Cherbourg June 28. To Blols; to 
Paris; to Toul; to Alencon. Sailed from St. 
Nazaire June 9, 1919; landed Newport News, 
June 20. To Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 
30, 1919. 

DAGGER, WIXiBUR EARI^ 

Alta 
Born April 18, 1896. Enl. December 14, 1917. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Med. Dept. Trained: Fort Riley, 
6 months; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from New 
York June 12, 191.S, on boat Massonabie: landed 
Liverpool June 25. To Southampton; to Cher- 
bourg. To Blois; to Paris, stationed there two 
months waiting for equipment for base hosp. 
wliile on detached service on Chateau-Thierry 
front; to Paris again; joined outfit; to Toul 
sector; to Meuse-Argonne; to Nancy two 
months after armistice: to Alencon; to Le 
Mans; to Camj) Hosp. three months; to St. 
Nazaire. Sailed on South Bend, July 5; arrived 
New York July 15. To Camp Merritt; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out July 26, 1919. 

DAHI., NED E. 

Alta 
Born June 24, 1884. Enl. October 11, 1918. 
Acting Top Sgt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena 
Vista College, Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered 
out December 13, 1918. 

DAKE, I.E BOY A. 
Brooke Township 
Born April 28, 1897. Knl. Weiitember 5, 1918, 
Pvt. Co. 58, 15th Bn. 163d D. B. Trained at 
Camp Dodge in Co. 58, 15th Bn. 163d D. B.; 
trans, to 105th Base Hosp. Sailed for France 
November, 1918. Was barracks orderly and 
room orderly in hospital. 

DARR, HAROIiD S. 

Storm Iiake 

Born October 26, 1893. Enl. July 17, 1917. 
2d Lieut. Aviation Branch of Service. Trained 
at Austin, Texas; at Kelly Field; also trained 
in Aerial Gunnery and Pursuit School at Ar- 
cadia, Florida. Mustered out December 29, 
1918. 

DARR, JAMES W. 
Iiee Township 
Born September 19. 1892. Enl. May 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 351st Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge. Left U. S. August 13, 1918; 
landed Liverpool, August 27, Landed in France 
September 10. Trained at Hindenburg and 
Grandecourt; in reserve trenches November 
11. Still in service, April 18, 1919. 




Chester L. Doty 
Newell 



Glenn H. Doty 
Newell 



Paul F. Duffy 
Grant Township 



Arnold Duncan 
Storm Lake 




Emil J. Dvorak 
Storm Lake 



Fred L. T. Edwards Russell M. Edwards George Burr Eginton 

Storm Lake Hayes To«nship Storm Lake 




John Elmer Ekstam 
Marathon 



Andrew EUrich 
Newell 



Homer Ellrich 
Newell 



Clarence J. Enright 
Storm Lake 




Frank Jeremiah Enright 
Storm Lake 



GeorgL- ilni i;^ liL 
Storm Lake 



W'illiuin Enright 
Storm Lake 



Fred Ralph Erickson 
Albert City 




Kaleb Erickson 
Fairfield Township 



Nels Erlandson 
Albert City 



Hadley H. Brvin 

Newell 



Merlyn B. Ervin 
Newell 




Aase (.Teorgf- Eskildsen 
Nokomis Township 



Henry Alfred Espe 
Nokomis Township 



Stanley B. Espe 
Storm Lake 



Alvin J. Evans 
Linn Grove 



78 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



DAVIDSON-, syi.vi:sti:r s. 
storm Iialce 

Born April 5, ISHl. Knl. May :;i;, 191S. Pvt. 
Co. C, 352d Inf. 88th Div. Trained at Camp 
Dodge 3 months; Camp Mills. Sailed from 
Hoboken on August 14, on S. S. A.scanias; 
landed Liverpool August 28. To Southampton; 
to Le Harve; to Leslammes; to Havricourt; 
to Belfort; to trenches in Haute-Alsace sector 
five days; to Toul two weeks; to Ribeaucourt 
five months; to St. Nazaire. Sailed from St. 
Xazaire on Canonicus May 21. 1919; landed 
at Newport News. June 3. To Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out June 13, 1919. 



DAVIDSON, ROY 

Storm Iiake 
Born February 13, 1894. Enl. November 6. 
1917. Carpenter's Mate Ist-cl., Co. 29. Trained 
at G. L. N. T. S. Mustered out January 6, 
1919. 

DAVIS, ARTHUR L. 
ILiiui Grove 

Born March 12, 1898. Enl. March 28, 1917. 
Pvt. 5th Mach. Gun Bn. 18th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge, Co. F, 19th Inf. 88th Div.; Fort 
Logan; Camp Travis, in Mach. Gun School; 
at San Antonio attached to 5th M. G. Bn. 18th 
Div. Mustered out February 15. 1919. 



DAVIS, EARI. V. 

Washington Township 
Born March 2. 1891. Knl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, 348th M. G. Bn. Trained at Camp 
Gordon, Co. C, Replm. Co.; Camp Merritt. 
Left U. S. September 14, 1918. Battle skir- 
mishes — expeditions — Ypres. Lys-Mons offen- 
sive. October 31 to November 11. Returned 
to the U. S. with 91st Div. on April 2, 1919. 
Mustered out April 22, 1919. 



DAVIS, GrLGER E. 

Marathon 

Enl. May, 1918. Corp. Bat. F, 339th F. A., 
88th Div. Trained: Camp Dodge; August 
13 to Camp Mills. Sailed on British ship 
Emi)ress. August 23, from Hoboken: landed 
Liverpool with convoy of 13 ships, Septem- 
ber 5. Paraded through city, marched five 
miles to rest camp for a few days; to 
Southampton: crossed the Channel on U. S. S. 
Har\-ard; landed Le Havre September 14. To 
rest camp three days; September 20, passed 
through Paris to camp; moved to another 
camp for range-flring practice, here when 
armistice was signed; to Bordeaux, December 
1; guard duty until January 18. Sailed for 
\J. S. on La Lorraine, January 19; landed 
New York January 28. To Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out February 8, 1919. 

DAVIS, IiESIiIi: Ii. 
Iiinn Grove 

Born July 31. 1898. Enl. October 3. 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C, Biiena Vista CoIleEe. Trained 
at Buena Vista College, Storm Lake, Iowa. 
Mustered out November 25, 1918. 

DAVIS, ROIiIiO G. 

Poland To^^ship 

Born July 29, 1888. Enl. May 26. 1918. Pvt. 
Co. E, 352d Inf. 88th Div. Trained: Camp 
Dodge until August 9. Sailed from Hoboken on 
English ship August 16; landed Liverpool 
August 28. To Southampton; to Le Havre 
August 30; to Les Loums; to Bermarit for three 
weeks: to Chevermont: to Rougemont; to 
Hagenbeck. September 18; to Lorraine front 
September 24 to November 4; to Peruse when 
armistice was signed; trans, to Toul sector 
until November 28; to Riveaucourt until April 
12. 1919; to St. Aignan in 3972 Casual Co. 
Sailed from Marseilles April 26 on Patria; 
landed Hoboken May 10, 1919. Mustered out 
at Mitchell Field, May 15, 1919. 



DAVIS, FLOYD 

Storm Iiake 
Born April 19. 1892, Enl. May 7, 1917. 
Bugler, 113th Amb. Co. 104th Sanitary Train. 
29th Div. Trained: Iowa Field Hosp. No. 2; 
at Sioux City. Iowa; to Camp Cody 11 months: 
to Camp Dix. Sailed from New York on 
Baltic October 13, 1918; landed Liverpool 
October 23. To Romsey; to Southampton; to 
Le Havre, October 27. To Le Mans; to St. 
Aignan; to Thesse; to Bourbonnc: to Melay 
for six months; to Beaumont; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed on Manchuria for U. S. May 11, 1919; 
landed New York May 21. To Camp Merritt; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 4, 1919. 



DI:AI.Y, DENNIS M. 

Albert City 
Born November 13, 1890. Enl. July 29, 

1918. Pvt. 8th Co. R. P. D. Troop, Engineers. 
Trained at Camp Forrest. 

DEGNER, EDWARD A. 

Coon Township 
Born January 24. 1895. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 210th Eng. Trained: Camp For- 
rest until September 30; to Camp Funston 
until October 30; to Camp Mills to Decem- 
ber 31; Camp Hampshire to February 28, 

1919. Mustered out at Camp Dodge, March 31, 
1910. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA MSTA COUNTY 



79 



DE I.A1TD, JAMES IiAEI. 
Storm Iiake 

Born May 6, 18!)4. Enl. December 5, 1917. 
Ensign in U. S. N. R. F. Trained: Municipal 
Pier; Lake Erie; Lake Superior; Lake Miclii- 
gan; Cleveland, Ohio; Pelham Bay. Promoted 
from seaman 2d-cl. to Quarter Master 2d-cl. 
to Ensign. Sailed from New York for Mar- 
seilles on U. S. S. Ophir, October 23, 1918; 
ship destroyed by fire in Gibraltar harbor the 
night of November 11; returned to U. S. 
December 6, 1918. 



DEIiBBIDGE, EVA (Nurse) 
storm Iiake 

Born January 16, 1887. Enl. November 8, 
1917. Red Cross Nurse, 114th Hosp. LTnit, 
Orthopedic Unit. Took nurse's training at 
Methodist Hosp. Des Moines; was in service at 
St. Joseph Hosp. Sioux City when enlisted. 
Trained: Camp Cody 8 months. Left New 
York in May. 1918; landed at St. Nazaire. 
Assigned to Base Hosp. No. 101; to Base 
Hosp. No. 6 near Bordeaux; to Camp Souge; 
most interesting experience at Beau Deset, 
largest hosp. in France; near Chateau-Thierry 
where she served in evac. hosp.; had charge 
of surgical department of Base Hosp. No. 114; 
on leave after armistice was signed; visited 
Rome, Naples, Venice. Returned home; landed 
New York May 23, 1919. Visited parents 
at Storm Lake on furlough. Died in Chicago, 
August 17, 1919. Buried at Storm Lake, Iowa. 



I>EI,F, MICHAEI. H. 

Storm Icake 
Born August 15, 1890. Enl. August 29, 
1918. Pvt. Inf. Trained at Camp Gordon. 



fighting line October 23 in Argonne Forest; 
on German line November 11, remained five 
days; to western France on 13-day march; 
to Brest in April. Sailed on President Grant 
April 22, 1919; landed New York May 6. To 
Camp Mills; Camp Dodge. Mustered out May 
19, 1919. 



SE SPAIN. I.I<OYI> I.. 

Iiincoln To^^mship 
Born April 1, 1897. Enl. August 23, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, Inf. 163d D. B. Trained: Camp 
Gordon. Mustered out August I'S, 1918. 



SIEHZ., CIiIN'TOM' H. 
Storm Xiake 

Born in 1892. Enl. December 13, 1917. Pvt. 
Remount No. 322, Q. M. C. Trained: Camp 
McArthur. Mustered out December 1, 1918. 



DIEHI^, GEORGE F. 

Storm liake 

Born October 9. 1894. Enl. July 8, 1917. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. B, 323d F. S. Bn. Corps Replm. 
Trained at Camp Funston. Left U. S. Janu- 
ary 28, 1918; landed Brest, February 12, 1918. 
Taken to casual camp at Blois; given insur- 
ance work; two months later transferred to 
postal department at Tours; 1 month later 
transferred to telegraph office as night chief 
clerk; ten months later ordered to casual 
camp at Cour Cherverney to await transpor- 
tation home; rejoined former Bn. which had 
been left in States; to the Coast. Sailed 
for the U. S. on Easter Sunday; landed New 
York two weeks later. Mustered out at Camp 
Dodge May 22, 1919. 



DENNISON, SAM 
Storm Iiake 

Born December 3, 1892. Enl. September 18, 
1917. Senior Sgt. Mch. Gun Co. 344th Bn. 
87th Div. Spent two months and twelve days 
in Liverpool and one month in Queenstown. 
Mustered out December 9, 1918. 



SIEBVTECHTER, ARTHUR A. 

Storiu Iiake 
Born July 24, 1895. Enl. November 3, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, Mech. Trng. School. Trained: 
Mechanical Training School, Ames Iowa. 
Mustered out December 11, 1918. 



DEFFE, WrLIiIAM 
Storm Ziake 

Born June 20, 1887. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, 21st Regt. 77th Div. Trained: 
Camp Gordon, pvt. C. H, 4th Replm. Inf.; 
Camp Merritt. Sailed August 29; landed Eng- 
land. To France September 15. Volunteered 
as shutter in Co. A, 21st Regt. 77th Div.; in 



DOKKEK, HERMAN 
Iiinn Grove 

Born May 18. 1899. Enl. September, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. 7, S. A. T. C. Trained: Iowa State 
College. Ames, Iowa. Studied mechanical 
engineering. Mustered out December 21, 1918. 



8o 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



DOI.AN, FRANK 
Iiinn Grove 

Enl. August 5, 1!)18. Pvt. in Inf., trans, to 
Q. M. C. Sl.Sth C. and I. Trained; Hill. Va. 
Mustered out December 24, 1918. 



SOI.AI]', MICHAEi; T. 

Stomi liaise 
Born August 3, 1891. Enl. August 5, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. 318th Regt. Q. M. C. Trained: 
Camp Hill. 

DOI.I.IVEB, JAMES I. 
Alta 

Born August 21, 1S94. Enl. .lune 1.".. iniS. 
Pvt. 3d Service Co. Trained; Tale University. 
Received a reserve commission after discharge. 
Mustered out December 11, 1918. 



No. 3 Green Hut Building, March 13, 191D. 
To Roland Park (General Hosp, No. 7); to 
U. S. General Hosp. No. 2 at Fort McHenry. 
Suffered loss of left eye. While on lines 
was on,gaged in telephoning maintenance con- 
struction. Mustered out October 1, 1919, 
with rating of fifty per cent disability. 



DUFFY, FAXTI. F. 

Grant Township 

Born October 25, 1894. Enl. March 11, 1918. 
Seaman, 146th Co. Trained: G. L. N. T. S. 
from March 11 to March 27, 1918; to Norfolk, 
in TNT plant from March 28 to July 10, 
1918; to hosp. with broken knee cap July 11; 
at Portsnnouth until November 1; to St, 
Helena Training Station from November 2 
until December 2, 1918; to Great Lakes Decem- 
ber 4. Mustered out February 28, 1919. 



DOTY, CHESTER L. 

Newell 
Born September 10. ]89fi. Enl. June 9. 1917; 
called to service September 1, 1917. Corp. Co. 
D, 7th Telegraph Bn., later designated as 
408th Telegraph Bn. Assigned to Municipal 
Pier for three days; to Camp Alfred Vail. 
Sailed on R. M. S. Carpathia, November 22; 
landed Liverpool December 6. To AVinchester; 
to Le Havre, December 10. To Nevers until 
February 7; to Vierzon until May 2; to Troyes 
until June 8, 1918; transferred to St. Nazaire 
and remained there doing telephone and tele- 
graph line work until July 26, 1919; to Mon- 
toir until September 9; to St. Nazaire. Sailed 
on U. S. S. Radnor, September 10; landed 
Brooklyn September 23. To Camp Upton. 
Mustered out September 25, 1919. 



DOTY, GIiENN H. 
Newell 

Born May 8, 1898. Enl. May 25, 1917. Pvt. 
Co. B, 307th F. S. Bn., 82d Div. Trained: 
Camp Dodge; Camp Gordon. Sailed from 
New York on U. S. S. Virginia May 18, 1918; 
landed Liverpool. May 30. To Southamp- 
ton; to Le Havre June 8. To Rangeaux; to 
Tours sector June 23 until August 15, 1918; to 
Marbache sector until September 17; to Ar- 
gonne front from October 1 to October 20. on 
that day was wounded by shrapnel; sent to 
Evac. Hosp. No. 10: to Base Hosp. No. 67; 
to Provision Base 8; to Base Hosp. 89; to 
Bordeaux, Base Ho.sp. No. Ill; to Evac. Hosp. 
20; to SIvac. Hosp. 65 at Brest. Sailed for 
U. S. on S. S. America March 4, 1919; landed 
New York March 13. To Debarkation Hosp. 



DUNABD, WALTER N. 
Grant Township 
Born February 10. 1893. Enl. July 24, 1918, 
Pvt. Troop B. Headquarters Train and Mili- 
tary Police. Trained at Camp Funston. 

DVORAK, EMrL J. 

Stomi Iiake 
Born February 16, 1893. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D. 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Mustered out December 18, 
1918. 

EDWARDS, FRED I.. T. 
Storm Iiake 

Born January 23, 1S91. Enl. July 21, 191S. 
Pvt. Mach. Gun Co. 361st Regt., 91st Div. 
Trained: Camp Gordon two months; Camp 
Merritt ten days. Sailed from Hoboken on 
U. S. S. America September 20; landed Brest 
September 29. Trained at St. Amant until 
October; trans, to Belgium October 27, going 
by w"ay of Dunkirk, England; participated in 
battle Lysle-Schuldt, in support position when 
armistice was signed; returned to Belleme; 
in France January 1 to last of March; to St. 
Nazaire. Sailed April 3 on U. S. S. Mexican; 
landed Camp Mills April 15, remained here one 
week. To Camp Dodge. Mustered out April 
28. 1919. 

EDWARDS, RUSSEI.L M. 
Hayes Township 

Born June 8, 1899. Enl. October 1, 1918. 
Corp. S. A. T. C. Trained: Buena Vista 
College, Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered out 
December 13, 1918. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



8i 



EGINTON, GEORGE BURR 

Storm Iiake 

Born June 13, ixao. Enl. June I'T. 191s. Sea- 
man 2d-cl. U. S. N. R. F. Trained at G. L. 
N. T. S.; receiving ship at Brooklyn Navy 
Yard; to Base No. 6. Queenstown, Ireland, 
via S. S. Glacier; tran,sferred to U. S. S. Texan, 
Sixth Battle Squadron, operating with British 
Grand Fleet in North Sea for four months of 
service: Sixth Battle Squadron took part in 
surrender of German High Seas Fleet Novem- 
ber 21, 1918. Released from active service 
December 31, 1918. 



EINDMARK, GUSTOP G. 

Albert City 
Born September '^i, 1893. Enl. June 25. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 350th Inf. 88th Div. Trained: 
Camp Dodge: Camp Cody. Mustered out 
November 27. 1918. 



EKSTAM, CARI. FRED 
Poland Township 

Born December :i. ISXT. Enl, July LM, 191X. 
Pvt, Co, C, 4th Replm. Regt. Discharged by 
reason of physical disability, July 31, 1918, 
at Camp Dodge. 



landed Liverpool August 28, To Southampton; 
to Cherbourg September 1. To Hericourt two 
weeks; to Alsace-Lorraine front for four days; 
to Rope two weeks; to Luiyon on way to 
Metz November 11; to Blbeaucourt May 11; 
to St. Nazaire. Sailed on S. S. Canonicus; 
landed Newport News June 4, 1919. Mustered 
out June 12, 1919. 



ENNINGEB, FAUIi R. 

Storm Ijake 
Born May 6, 1891. Enl. May 26, 1918, Pvt. 
Mach. Gun Co. 352d Inf. SSth Div. Trained: 
Camp Dodge until August 8; to Camp Mills. 
Sailed from New York August 16; landed 
Liverpool August 28. To Winchester; ,to 
Southampton: to Le Havre. To Gresigny for 
two weeks; to Noval; to Chermont; to Mor- 
terechaeton; to Haute-Alsace sector for five 
days; to Belfort; to Fort Lucy, at this fort 
when armistice was signed — was headed for 
Metz sector; to Bonnet, winter headquarters 
from November 30 to May 9, 1919: to Le 
Mans; to St, Nazaire. Sailed for U. S. May 
21 on U. S. S. Canonicus; landed Newport 
News June 3. To Camp Dodge, Mustered 
out June 13, 1919. 



EKSTAM, JOHN EI.MER 
Marathon 

Born November 22, 1891. Enl. April 26. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 338th Bn., SSth Div. Trained: Cam|i 
Dodge until June 30, when he contracted acute 
spinal meningitis, was taken to hospital at once 
and held there until date of discharge. Mus- 
tered out December 11, 1918. 



ENRIGHT, CIiABENCE J. 

Storm X<ake 

Born September 25. 1887. Enl. July 



24. 



1918. Corp. Co. C, 163d Replm, Regt; trans, 
to 77th Div. Trained: Camp Gordon. Sailed 
for France August 10, 1918. Was on German 
border wlien armistice was signed. 



EI.I.RICH, ANDREVr 

ITeTwell 
Born February 26, 1896. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 4th Regt. 3d Div. Trained Camp 
Gordon. Sailed from New York on Leviathan 
August 25: landed Brest Sei)tember 1. To 
Roseierre for one month's training; to Des- 
seljim; to lines on Belgium front for three 
days: was in battle of Ypres on November 
11; to Camp Noyan, Belgium: to Egie. France, 
all winter; to St. Nazaire. Sailed on S. S. 
Virginia, April 8. 1919; landed New York April 
20. Mustered out May 7. 1919. 

EI.I.BICS, HOMER 

Newell 
Born April 18, 1891. Enl. May 26, 1918. 
Pvt. 352d Regt. Inf. 88th Div. Trained; Camp 
Dodge. Sailed from New York August 15; 



ENRIGHT, PRANK JEREMIAH 
Storm Ijalse 

Born December 6. 1SS9. Enl. Januiiy 9. 
1916. Sgt. Ist-cl.. Med. Dept. 126th F. A. 34th 
Div. Trained: Fort Riley; Camp Cody, joined 
34th Div.; to school at Camp Stanley; moved 
from Camp Cody to Fort Sill, July 3, 1918. 
Sailed from New York September 23 on Brit- 
ish transport H. M. S. Kashmir, wrecked 
with the H. M. S. Toronto in Irish Sea Octo- 
ber 6, the Kashmir having to land at Glasgow, 
Scotland; sailed from Southampton to Le 
Havre October 8, Billeted at Lamarque from 
October 11 to November 1; moved to Camp De 
Souge. where regt. received artillery prepara- 
tion for the front, was here when armistice 
was signed. Sailed from Bordeaux December 
25. 1918; landed Newport News January 6. 1919. 
Mustered out January 21. 1919. at Camp Dodge. 




I)avicl J. Evans 
Linn Grove 



Krnest W. Evans 
Linn Grove 



Everett John Evans 
Linn Grove 



Howard M. (jvan: 
Linn Grove 





Louis H. Evans 
Storm Lake 



Enoch Faber 
Newell 



Charles A. Fairchild 
Barnes Township 



Herbert Elmer Fairt-hild 
Lee Township 









Georg;e Eddy Farmer William Henry Farmer 

Sioux Rapids Sioux Rapids 



Alanson M. Fitchett 
Newell 



Harold L. Fitchett 
(.'oon Township 




Jerome Fitzpa trick 
Providence Township 



AVilliani Kiuyd 
Marathon 



Vernon Fot-U 
Storm Lake 



Helmer Fontey 
Linn Grove 




Frank B. Foote 
Brooke Township 



Gehard O. Fosmark 
Lee Township 



Louis Louverne Foster 
Storm Lake 



Archie Frandson 
Newell 




Philip Frederick 
Storm Lake 



Ule X. Kul lei- 
Linn Grove 



.Sn|)iim Fuller 
Linn Grove 



John \\'. Fulton 
Storm Lake 



84 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



ENBIGHT, G-EORGE 

Storm liake 
Born January 17, 1893. Enl. February 12, 
1918. Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. B, 32d Eng. Trained: 
Camp Dodge and Camp Grant: to Camp I'pton 
June 8. Sailed from New Yorli on Leviathan 
June 15; landed at Brest June 22; there two 
weeks. Three month.s at Bordeaux, where co. 
built camp ba.sin.s — regt. split up, our co. to 
Marseilles and spent the remainder of the time 
in France at that place building railroads, 
docks and camps. June 7 embarked from 
Marseilles on Frencli boat Patria; landed 
New York June 22. Mustered out at Camp 
Dodge, June 30, 1919. 



ENBIGHT, 'WII.I.IAM 

Storm Iiake 
Born August 14, 1879. Enl. in U. S. Army 
December 14, 1899. Sgt. Instructor Co. B. 
30th and 19th Inf.; at Vancouver Barracks; 
served twelve years in Philippine Islands 
from 1899 until 1912; six months in Mexico 
during Vera Cruz Campaign 1912 and 1913; 
was given a captaincy commission as an 
instructor for several states; conducted a 
non-commissioned officers' school at Council 
Bluffs, Iowa; served at Camp Dodge, when the 
camp was first started; to Fort Sam Houston; 
to Fort Bliss; to Fortress Monroe; to Fort 
Pickens. Three months after war was de- 
clared resigned cajjtaincy commission in hopes 
of getting overseas, and re-enlisted in Coast 
Artillery. (Still in service.) 



ERICKSON, FRED RAI.PR 

Albert City 
Born October 4, 1893. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. F, 212th Eng. 12th Div. Trained at 
Camp Forrest; to Camp Devers. Mustered out 
at Camp Dodge, January 31, 1919. 



ERI.ANSSON, NEI.S 

Albert City 
Born November 3, 1886. Enl. February 24, 
1918. Pvt. Co. I. 1st Bn. Inf. 163d D. B. 
Trained at Camp Dodge from February 24, 
1918 until December 12, 1918. Mustered out 
December 12, 1918. 



ERVIN, HADI.EY H. 

Newell 
Born April 29, 1894. Enl. July 10. 1918. 
1st Lieut. O. R. C, Dental Co. No. 1, Med. 
Dept. Branch. Trained: Camp Greenleaf; 
Camp Merritt. Promoted to 1st Lieut. Officers' 
Reserve Corps. Mustered out February 1, 1919, 



ERVIN, MERI.YN B. 
Newell 

Born July 25. 1899. Enl. October 3, 1918. 
Sgt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Iowa City. Iowa, 
with 1st S. A. T. C. Bn. Promoted from 
bugler to sgt. Mustered out December 21, 
1918. 



ESKII.DSEN, AAGE GEORGE 
Nokomis To'wuship 

Born January 24, 1892. Enl. April 25. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C. 357th Inf. 90th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; Camp Travis; Camp Mills. Left 
New York June 20; landed Liverpool July 15, 
1918. To Southampton; to Le Havre. To 
Ouconnigrot, August 20; to St. Mihiel, Septem- 
ber 1; to Argonne October 15; wounded in 
Argonne October 24; to Base Hosp. 36. Octo- 
ber 25; to St. Nazaire. Sailed on transport 
Susquehanna ; landed Newport News December 
6. To Base Hosp. To Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out January 11, 1919. 



ERICKSON, kai;eb 

Pairfield Township 
Born April 14, 1891. Enl. September 19, 
1917. Pvt. P. W. E. Co. No. 21.- Special 
training with Escort Co. No. 21. Trained: 
Camp Dodge in Co. A, 350th Inf.; to Camp 
Cody, Co. L. 133d Regt. 34th Div.; to Camp 
Merritt. Sailed June 30 on Glasgow; landed at 
Glasgow, Scotland. To Southampton; to Le 
Havre. To St. Aignan; to Tours; to Mermeis; 
to Marseilles; to Bordeaux. Sailed December 
25 on Netherland; landed Newport News. To 
Camp Lee; to Gamp Dodge. Mustered out 
February 2. 1919. 



ESFE, HARRY AI.FRED 

Nokomis Township 
Born February 26. 1895. Enl. June 5, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 349th Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge, Co. C, 350th Inf. 88th Div.; 
to Camp L^pton. Left Hoboken August 9; 
landed Southampton August 16. To Le Havre. 
To St. Jeanne; to Danjatan; to Frabas; entered 
trenches on Alsace front latter part of Octo- 
ber: to Grasser Manqs; to Camp Hermitage: 
on November 30 to Huverni; to Chameure; to 
La Sure; to St. Nazaire. Sailed for U. S. on 
U. S. S. Henry Mallory May 18; landed Brook- 
lyn May 28. To Camp Mills; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out June 10, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA MSTA COLXTY 



85 



ESFi:, STANI.EV B. 

Storm Iiake 
Born April 19, 1892. Enl. February 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. L, ISLst Reg-t., 33d Div. Trained: 
Camp Dodge; Camp Logan; to Camp Upton, 
Landffi Brest May 30. To Amiens front July 
1 to August 25; to Toul sector; to Verdun, 
September 8 to 26; severely wounded Septem- 
ber 26, taken to Johns Hopkins Hosp. for one 
week; to Base Hosp. No. 11 at Martes October 
3 to January 9, 1919; to St. Nazaire. Sailed 
for the United States; landed Newport News 
February 11, 1919. Sailed on U. S. S. Prin- 
cess Matoka. To Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
February 22, 1919, 

EVANS, ALVIN J. 
Iilnn Grove 

Born in 1895. Enl. May, 25, 1917, Pvt. Co. 
D, 142d Inf. Hdq. Co. First service in Co. 
M. Second Iowa N. G. Trained: Camp Cody, 
trans, to Co. C, 127th N. G. Bn., to Co, I, 
133d Inf., to M. G. Co. 133d Inf.; to Camp 
Dix. Sailed October 10, 1918; landed October 
22 in France. Trans, to Co. D, 142d Inf.. to 
Hdq. Co. 142d Inf. Left France May 19, 1919; 
landed New York May 31, Mustered out 
June 7, 1919. 



N. T. S.; to Radio School at Cambridge; to Sea- 
plane School at Pensacola, Fla.; where he 
operated wireless on seaplanes. Mustered out 
April 9, 1919, 



EVANS, I.OUIS H, 
Storm liaka 

Born December 4, 1894. Enl. July 1, 1917. 
Corp, Co. M, 168th Inf., 42d Div, Sailed for 
France from New York October IS. 1917, on 
U. S. S. President Grant; returned to port 
October 28; re-embarked November 14 on Brit- 
ish transport Celtic; landed Liverpool, there 
for ten days. To Le Havre. To Ramicourt; 
to Langres; to Baccarat: entered the line Feb- 
ruary 22, 191S, in Luneville sector; at Badon- 
viller; to Champagne July 1. 1918; to Chateau- 
Thierry July 22 to August 6; to Verdun and 
St. Mihiel September 12 to 25; to Argonne 
October 5; to Sedan; left for hosp. November 
9 with influenza: re.ioined Co. M Ajii-il 15. 
1919; to Germany with the Army of Occupa- 
tion along the Rhine; left Germany April 6 
for Brest, Sailed on U. S. S. Leviathan; landed 
at New York. To Camp Upton; to Camp Cody. 
Mustered out May 17, 1919. 



EVANS ERNEST W. 
Iiiun. Grove 
Born November 18, 1894. Enl. June 15, 
1918. Mech. in Hdq. Co, Mechanical Branch 
of Army. Trained: Iowa State College; was 
instructor in truck driving at Val])araiso, 
Indiana. Mustered out Deceniber 23, 1918. 



EVANS, EVERETT JOHN 
Iilnu Grove 
Born November 18. 1894, Enl. May 28, 1917. 
Ist-cl. petty officer U. S. Navy. Trained: G. 
L. N. T. S. Served at U. S. Naval Base at 
Brest from May, 1918 to December. 1918. 
Trans, to Paris for duty with Peace Com- 
niision on January 10, 1919; on January 22 
liecame member of Military Mission and went 
to Berlin for duty at that place, return- 
ing when mission was withdrawn; to Paris on 
February 16 for duty; on March 10 trans, to 
U. S. Naval Hdq. at Brest for duty until Sep- 
tember 21. 1919. Returned to U. S. on Pow- 
hatan. Mustered out October 21, 1919. 

EVANS HOWARD M. 
^inn Grove 

Born February 5, 1898. Enl. June 21, 1918. 
Electrician in Radio Section. Trained at G. L. 



7ABER, ENOCH 
Newell 

Born August 4, 1895. Enl. July 12. 1917. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Med. Dept. 353d Inf., 88th Div. 
Trained: Camp Dodge; Fort Logan; Fort 
Riley. Sailed August 16 on City of Exeter; 
landed Manchester. August 28. 1918. To 
Southampton; to Le Havre. To Bussy-le- 
Grand; to Hericourt; to Meraux-Vizelois; to 
Alsace front for 14 days; to Toul November 
11; to Ribeaucourt until May 10. 1919; to St. 
Nazaire. Sailed on U. S. S. Canonicus May 21; 
landed Newport News June 3, 1919. Mustered 
out June 13, 1919. 



FAIRCHrDD, CHARI.ES A. 

Barnes Township 

Born August 5, 1891. Enl. September 20, 
1917. Corp. Co. M. 350th Inf., 88th Div. 
Trained: Camp Dodge; Camp Pike; Camp Dix. 
Left Montreal. Canada, on Tcnation August 
24. 1918; landed London September 9. To 
Southampton; to Cherbourg; to Lanzac; to 
Brest. Sailed on H. M. S. Mauretania Decem- 
ber 24; landed New York December 30. To 
Camp Merritt; to Camp Pike; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out January 30. 1919. 



86 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



FAIBCHZLS, HERBERT BIiMER 

Iiee 
Born December 8. 1887. Enl. February 25. 
1918. Pvt. Co. L, 131st Inf. 33d Div. Trained: 
Camp Dodge until April 26; to Camp Logan 
to May 6, 1918. Left New York May 21 on 
Leviathan; landed Brest May 30. To Somme 
front June 15 to August 25, in offensive and 
reserves; in Argonne-Meuse offensive Septem- 
ber 1 to October 10; captured by Germans 
October 1(1; confined at Camp Rastatt. Germany, 
until December 6; released, sent through 
.S\\'itzerland to Vichey, France; joined casual 
CO. January 25 at St. Aigran. Sailed from 
Brest on S. S. Huntington, March 12; landed 
Hoboken March 23, 1919. To Camp Merritt; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out April 2, 1919. 



FARMER, GEORGE EDDY 
Sioux Rapids 
Born March 24. 1SS7. Enl. August 2", 1917. 
1st Lieut. Co. B, 42d Inf., 12th Div; Captain 
Inf. U. S. Army. Trained: Second Officers' 
Training Camp. Port Snelling, November 27 
to September 5, 1918. 1st Lieut. Co. B. 42d 
Inf., 12th Div. September 5 to Feb 15, 1919, 
Captain Inf. U. S. Army. Mustered out Feb- 
ruary 15. 1919. 



PARMER WII.I.IAM HENRY 
Sioux Rapids 

Born November 24. 1892. Enl. August 27, 
1917. 1st Lieut. Chief Observer at Camp Knox. 
Candidate in F. A. Training Camp at Fort 
Benjamin Harrison; comn^issioned 1st Lieut. 
November 27, 1917; August 27. 1917. to Novem- 
ber 27. 1917. at Fort Benjamin Harrison; No- 
vember 27 to February 28, Bat. F, 322d F. A. 
Camp Shennan as 1st Lieut.; February 28 tn 
May 1 at Fort Sill School of Fire and Aerial 
Observation; May 1 to July 4, Co. O. Squadron 
E. Camp Dick; July 4 to Sept. 28 F. A. B. F. 
C. Aerial Observer, Camp Jackson; September 
28 to January 2, 1919, Chief Observer at 
Camp Knox. Mustered out January 2. 1919. 



FEITS, GEORGE W. 

Truesdale 

Born December 31, 1896. Enl. September 20. 
1917. Pvt. Co. H. 101st Inf., 26th Div. Trained: 
Camp Dodge; Camp Pike; Camp Merritt. 
Sailed from New York on S. S. Anthem, June 
20. 1918; landed Liverpool July 1. To Camp 
Winnell. Winchester; to Southampton; to Le 
Havre July 5. To .St. Aignan. to Casual Camp; 
to St. George, detached to Co. K, 163d Inf; to 
Chateau-Thierry, Co. H, 101st Inf.; entered line 
of battle for five days in Second Battle of 



the Marne; to rest camp 27 days; to St. Mihiel 
sector si.K days; to Verdun sector, October 18; 
to Argonne offensive, was there until the 
armistice was signed; shelled and attacked 
all the time while in trenches, went over top 
October 23; November 13 hiked 235 kilometers 
to Chaumont and remained there until Decem- 
ber 23; to Le Mans; to Brest. Sailed March 
28 on the German ship Amerika; landed Boston 
April 5, to Camp Devens; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out April 28, 1919. 

FEBGUSON', EARI. J. 

Stonn Ziake 

Born April 29, 1889. Corp. Co. B. 1st Train- 
ing Bn. Trained at Jefferson Barracks; Camp 
MacArthur; Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
December 23. 1918. 

FITCHETT, AIiANSON M. 

Newell 
Born November 22, 1896. Enl. September 
5, 1918. Trained: Camp Dodge until June 26. 
1919; to Ft. Des Moines until October 22. 1919. 
Mustered out October 22. 1919. 

FITCHETT, HAROI.D Ii. 

Coon To^^ship 
Born December 18, 1894. Enl. December 14, 

1917. Trained: Ft. Logan, assigned to Batt. 

C. 62d Regt. as pvt.; at Presidio. California, 
until June 13, 1918; to New York June 21. 
Sailed on S. S. Baltic July 14; landed Liver- 
pool July 26. Crossed Channel to Le Havre. 
Transferred to Libourne; to St. Laurent from 
August 3 until January 16, 1919; to camp near 
Bordeaux January 17. Sailed on U. S. S. Poca- 
hontas February 6; landed Newport News 
February 19. To Camp Eustis three weeks; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out March 11, 1919. 

FITZFATRICK, JEROME 

Providence Township 

Born September 13. 1891. Enl. February 24. 

1918. Sgt. Co. C, 308th F. S. Batt. Third Army 
Corps. Trained: Camp Dodge, pvt. Co. C, 163d 

D. B.; to Camp Sherman, pvt. Co. C. 30Sth 
F. S. B. Sailed on S. S. Megantic from Ho- 
boken June 12; landed Liverpool June 23. To 
Southampton; to Cherbourg. June 26. To 
Eccomoy; to Nogent; to Conflans-Sainte-Honor- 
ine; to Meaux; to Coulonges; to Dormans; to 
Souilly; to Rampont; to Malancourt; to Cuisy; 
to ?Tontfaucon; to Nantalois; to Septarges; to 
Romagne; to Dun-sur-Meuse; began march to 
Coblenz, Germany; to Brest. Sailed on U. S. S. 
Pocohantas July 22; landed Hoboken August 
1. 1919. To Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out August 8. 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUXT^' 



87 



FX.OVD, WIItXiIAM 

Marathon 
Born April 28, 1895. Enl. April 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. H, 359th Inf., 90th Div. Trained: 
Camp Dodge 8 \veek.s; to Camp Travis; Camp 
MilKs. June 7. Sailed on English transport 
Ardunna. June 20; landed Liverpool July 2. 
Celebrated July 4th at Winchester; crossed 
Channel July 5; landed Brest. Six weeks 
training at Rocey; to St. Mihiel sector August 
19. on firing line 33 continuous days and while 
on outpost duty was shot by pistol, bullet, 
entering just below left eye severing some 
nerves an4 went out through right eye tear- 
ing out part of right cheek, the right side of 
jawbone, cheek and p>'e; wounded September 
22. Landed Hampton Roads January 1, 1919. 
Has been in special hospital at Baltimore for 
the blind, receiving twelve operations; on 
December a, 1919. trans, to Walter Reid Hosp. 
Washington for further treatment — classifica- 
tion, 2-200 — is considered industrial-occupation 
blind: brother killed on same front September 
17, 1918. Is in hospital named above at present 
time. 

FOEIiI., VERNON 

Storm liake 
Born March 11, 1897. Enl. September 5, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. 19th Military Police. Trained at 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out January 28, 1918. 

FONTEY, HEIiMER 
Iiiiin Grove 

Born July 11, 1SS7. Enl. October. 1917. 
Machinist in Aviation Section. Trained at 
Salt Lake City: at Waco, Texas. Acted as ex- 
pert machinist on turning lathe, then started 
machines in field, then on wrecking crew. 

FOOTE, FRANK B. 

Brooke Township 

Born February 19, 1890. f::nl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. 316th Replm. Regt. 79th Div. 
Trained: Camp Gordon. Left Hoboken August 
31 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed Brest Sep- 
tember 13. To St. Georges for training; to 
Verdun; to the front in the Argonne Forest 
for thirty days previous to signing of armis- 
tice — four days without food; one of the few 
men who held a sector that might have been 
taken by the Germans had they known the 
weakness of our force; November 11 was taken 
to hospital with typhoid and trench feet; sailed 
on hosp. ship Magnolia, January 22, 1919; 
landed New York January 31. Expresses grati- 
tude for services of Salvation Army and Red 
Cross. Mustered out at Camp Dodge Febru- 
ary 21, 1919. 



FOOTE, JOHN FAVI. 

Storm Iiake 

Born December 22. 1S9S. Enl. October 1. 
1918. Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained with S. A. T. 
C. Co., Iowa State College. 



FOSMARK, GERHARD O. 
Ijee Township 

Born June lu. l^:rl. Knl. February 25. 1918. 
Pvt. 351st Regt. 88th Div. Trained at Camp 
Dodge. Served in infantry until October, 1918; 
trans, to Q. M. C. Depot Brigade, in hospital 
service for five months. Mustered out Decem- 
ber 26, 1918. 



FOSTER, CIiARENCE HAROI-D 
Storm Iiake 

Born August 3, 1894. Enl. August 20, 1918. 
Pvt. Machine Gun Co. 3d Group. 35th Training 
Corps, M. G. Training Center, Camp Hancock. 
Trained at Camp Gordon for three weeks; to 
Camp Hancock three months. Mustered out 
December 28, 1918. 



FOSTER, I.OUIS I.OUVERNE 
Storm liake 
Born February 14, 1894. Enl. December 2, 
1917. Ensign, U. S. Navy, assigned to U. S. S. 
Western Coast. Trained at G. L. N. T. S.; to 
New York. Enl. as seaman 2d-cl. promoted to 
ensign. Assigned to U. S. S. Western Coast, 
October 31; sailed November 1 for Le Havre; 
arrived Le Havre November 15, 1918. Laid at 
the docks of Le Havre until January 1, 1918; 
after two days out ran into storm and was 
blown 150 miles off course; made Bermuda 
Islands after 21 days at sea; stayed in Ber- 
muda for two weeks making repairs on ship; 
ship was put in dry dock and officers and crew 
taken to receiving ship from which Foster was 
released February 19, 1919. 



FRANDSON, ARCHIE 

Newell 

Born February 3. 1SS;9. Enl. December 13. 
1917. Q. M. C. Pvt. 307th Butchery Co. at- 
tached to 3d Div. Trained: Camp Meigh. 
Sailed from New York on S. S. Von Steuben 
June 26, 1918; landed Brest May 8, 1918. Sent 
to St. Nazaire on convoy duty principally to 
American sectors with meat trains; was also 
at Nantes in charge of warehouse. Sailed 
for U. S. on S. S. Sierra, June 16, 1919; landed 
New York June 26. Mustered out July 7, 
1919. 




Ralph V. liartin 
Storm Lake 



John i^'ai'i-eil <.;aliert,\- 
Grant Township 



Kugene T. < Jarton 
Lee Township 



Orrin C. <iarton 
Lee Township 




Maurice W. Gary 
Poland Township 



Vernette M. Gaskins 
Linn Grove 



Wallie E. Geary 
Providence Township 



lUifus Edward Geib 
Marathon 




Lawrence J. Geisinger 
Storm Lake 



Alburt Gerdes 
Albert City 



Christ Gerdes 
Fairfield Township 



Benjamin F. Giddings 
Elk Township 




Charles V. Gilchrist 
Sioux Rapids 



Floyd H. GilliUuid 
Storm Lake 



William K. Gillispie 
Marathon 



Eugene C. Glowrzewsky 
Storm Lake 




George A. Glowczewsky Roland E. Goldsmith 

Storm Lake Storm Lake 



F. V. Goodness 
Storm Lake 



Albert G. Gran 
Storm Lake 




Rudolph Ai'tliur Gran Edward Leiand Greene 

Storm Lake Storm Lake 



Royal Eugene Greengo 
Sioux Rapids 



Adolph Gregerson 
Nokomis Township 



90 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



FRANDSON, CARI^ 

Newell 
Born January 13. 1889. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Inf. Trained 
at Camp Gordon. Mustered out January 9, 
1919. 

FRAN-SEIT, CARI. Vt. 

Albert City 
Born April 25, 1896. Enl. September 20, 

1917. Corp. Co. A. 35i:ith Int. SSth Div. Trained: 
Camp Dodge; Camp Pilie; Camp Green, with 
4th Div.; trans, to Camp Pike. 87th Div., until 
March. 1918; to Camp Greene. Sailed on Italian 
battleship Caserta May 10, 191S; landed Brest 
May 3. In Brest three days; to Calais; bombed 
by German airships; to front, served witli 41st 
Regt.. 4th Div.; in Army of Occupation 7 
months at Coblenz; in battles of Champagne. 
Aisne. Argonne, St. Mihiel. Meuse-Argonne; in 
action with French — no credit given. Sailed 
September 1, 1919; landed Hoboken September 
8. Mustered out at Camp Dodge September 
26, 1919. 

TREDERICK, FHII.IF 

Storm Iiake 
Born November 29, 1892. Enl. February 24, 

1918. Trained: Camp Dodge; Camp Logan. 
Pvt. Co. F, 132d Inf. 33d Div. Sailed May 
15, 1918; landed May 24, 1918. Sailed home 
May 9, 1919; landed May 17, 1919. Saw service 
with A. E. F. at Argonne-Meuse, St. Mihiel 
and Somme. Mustered out May 26, 1919. 

FTJIiIiER, OIii: N. 

Iiinn Grove 

Born February 18. 1889. Enl. February 25. 
1918. Horseshoer 49th Co. 20th Eng. Trained: 
Camp Dodge: American University. Went to 
France May 22, 1918; horseshoer in lumber 
camp, also at Murat, and at Arangoose in 
Pyrennes Mountains on boundary line of Spain. 
Operated on for hernia twice in France. 
Mustered out ApTil 3. 1919. 

FTJI.I.I:r, SOFHIA (Nurse) 
Iiinn Grove 
Volunteered for service October 1, 1918, 
during "flu" epidemic in Army Nursing Corps 
at Base Hospital. Camp Custer. Graduate of 
St. John's Hospital, Sioux City, Iowa; was 
supt. of St. John's at time of volunteering. 

FULTON, JOHN -W. 

Storm liake 
Born October 7, 1891. Enl. May 15, 1918. 
2d Lieut. Recruit Training Offlci-r. Trained 
for five months prior to entry into service in 



Y. M. C. A. service at Atlanta, Georgia; en- 
listed in the Marines at Atlanta; sent to the 
Recruit Depot at Paris Island and was cliosen 
to attend the N. C. O. School at termination 
of recruit training; having completed the 
course was granted a corporal's warrant and 
chosen as one of the 70 men — Paris Island 
quota — to attend the Second Officers' Training 
Camp of the Marines at Quantico. Va. : on 
graduation from this school commissioned 2d 
Lieut, and stationed at Paris Island as re- 
cruit training officer. Resigned commission 
to return to Buena Vista College. Mustered out 
July 15. 1919. 



GAFFIN, RAI,FH Y. 

Storm Italce 
Born November 3, 1899. Enl. October 1, 
1918. Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained: Iowa State 
College. Mustered out December 20. 1918. 

GAHERTY, JOHN FARREI.I; 

Grant Township 

Born July 27, 1895. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. M, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained: Camp 
Gordon, trans, to Replm. Div. Sailed on XJ. S. 
S. Plattsburg. August 30; landed Brest Septem- 
ber 12. To St. George; to Verdun; to Issen- 
court; joined 79th Div. October 29 at Genicourt; 
in front lines in attack on Hill 378 Novem- 
ber 4; in lines until November 11; to German 
prison camp until November 29; to Base Hosp. 
No. 31 with "flu," pneumonia, and typhoid; 
operated on January 1 for en.vpyema; Febru- 
ary 1 to Base Hosp. No. 79; April 19 to Base 
Hosp. No. 69; to St. Nazaire. Sailed May 14 
on Mercy; landed New York May 25. To Grand 
Central Palace one week; to Ft. Sheridan; 
home on leave August 23; returned for treat- 
ment September 21; on furlough in Noveml:)er; 
gradually regaining health and expected to be 
discliarged early in 1920. 

GARTON, EUGENE T. 
Ijee Township 

Born July 9, 1893. Enl. July 1, 1918. Water 
tender. Trained: G. L. N. T. S.. July 1 tn 
August 1; to Norfolk; boarded Iowa August 
15; left Commonwealth Pier, Boston, sailed to 
Montreal; sailed on Dancy October 31; landed 
St. Nazaire November 25. By boat to Roche- 
fort; to Cardiff, Wales, December 10 to 22; 
Tonnchurente River December 25 to January 
2. 1919; Newport. Wales. January 24 to 30: 
Barry Docks January 30 to 31; to Rotterdam, 
Holland, February 3 to 11; to Danzig. Germany, 
February 15; to New Castle, England. March 1. 
Released from G. D. N. T. S. September 15, 
1919; still subject to call as reserve. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



91 



GARTON. OBRIN C. 

Iiee Township 
Born October 13, 1891. Enl. May 15, 1918. 
Wagoner, Batt. D, 163d Brigade, 337th Regt. 
P. A, Trained: Dunwoody Institute May 16 
to July 8; Cami) Dodge July 14 to Augu.st 15; 
to Camp Mills. Left U. S. August 18 on trans- 
port Bohemian from Hoboken; landed Liver- 
pool August 31. To Southampton September 2; 
crossed Channel to Le Havre September 4 on 
Narragansett. To Clermont; Ferrand, Septem- 
ber 8; trained two and one-half months at 
Cetezeta; did motor work at Clermont October 
13 to 27; December 3 arrived Camp St. Sul- 
pice; to Bordeaux. Sailed January 8, 1919; 
landed Hoboken January 19. To Camp Mer- 
ritt January 20. Mustered out January 31, 
1919. at Camp Dodge. 

GARY, MAURICE W. 

Poland Township 
Born October 20, 1898. Enl. October 1, 
1918. Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained: Buena Vista 
College, Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered out 
December 13, 1918. 



English Channel to France. Remained a cook 
during all time that he was in France. Sailed 
from St. Nazaire, June 28, 1919, on the U. S. 
S. Edgar F. Luckenbach. Mustered out July 
15. 1919. 

GEISINGER, I.AWRENCI: 3. 

Storui Ijake 

Born August 11, 1895. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained: Camp 
Gordon three months; to Camp Shelby. 
Mustered out December 30, 1918. 



GERDES, AI.BI:RT 

Albert City 

Born December 17. 1885. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained: Camp 
Gordon; Camp Merritt. Sailed August 31 on 
U. S. S Plattsburg; landed Brest September 
13. To St. George, trained there two weeks; 
to Somme Forest and stayed one week; to tlie 
front and stayed until the signing of the 
armistice — in France 9 months; was in the 
battle of Argonne Forest, at the front about 
two weeks. Mustered out June 8, 1919. 



GASKINS, VERNETTE M. 
Iiinn Grove 

Born February 14, 1892. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. 315th Inf. Sanitary Detach., 79th Div, 
Trained: Camp Gordon. Sailed September 
13; landed Brest September 31. Trans, to the 
79th Div. October 23, attached to the 315th Inf. 
San. Detach.; arrived at the front 18 miles 
north of Verdun October 21, taking part in the 
Meuse-Argonne offensive up to the time of 
the armistice. Mustered out June 7, 1919. 



GERDES, CHRIST 

Pairfleld Township 
Born December 19, 1893. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 116th Eng. 81st Div. Trained: 
Camp Forrest; October 24 to Camp Merritt. 
Embarked on U. S. S. George Washington No- 
vember 1; landed Brest November 9. Novem- 
ber 16 to N. J. Camp; to Louzerra. Sailed for 
U. S. Dec. 27; landed Newport News January 
9, 1919. To Jefferson Barracks. Mustered out 
January 28, 1919. 



GEARAI.I>, AI.BERT 

Sioux Rapids 
Born May 26. 1891. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. G, 5th Replm. Inf.. 5th Replm. Div. Trained 
at Camp Gordon. Mustered out October 24, 
1918. 

GEARY, ■WAJ.I.TE E. 

Providence Township 
Born March 21, 1895. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Mustered out December 8, 1918. 

GEIB, RUFXTS EDV^ARD 

Marathon 

Born January 14, 1896. Enl. May 28. 1918. 
Cook Co. 3, 34th Eng. Trained: Camp Taylor; 
to Fort Benjamin Harrison; to Camp LTpton. 
Sailed from Long Island August 16; landed 
Liverpool August 28. September 1 crossed 



GIDDIN6S, BENJAMIN P. 
Elk Township 

Born January 22. 1X93. Enl. February 25. 
1918. Pvt. 314th Trains Hdq. Trained: Camp 
Dodge one month, pvt. Co. H. 351st Inf. 8Sth 
Div.: at Camp Upton, pvt. in 27th Eng.. there 
was taken sick and was sent to camp hosp. 
ward A-5 for two months: trans, to 29th Co. 
D. B., then from 29th to 40th D. B.; to Camp 
Mills, to 314th Trains Hdq. Sailed June 27 
on Saxon; landed Glasgow, Scotland. To Win- 
chester; to Southampton by boat; to Le Havre. 
To Rimacourt; to Mein-la-Town; to Grosvire; 
to Riececourt; to .Tubecourt; to Bouillanville; 
on Toul sector: at St. Mihiel; Damphi.an sector; 
to Meuse-Argonne sector; to Kylburg, Ger- 
many, December 6 to May 11, 1919; to Toul; 
to Brest. Sailed May 19 on Crown Prince 
Fredrich Willielm: landed Hoboken May 27. 
To Camp Upton; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out June 7, 1919. 




Denton B. Gregg 
Storm Lake 



Walter Stewart Grey 
Lee Township 



Rudulpti liriellke 

Nokomis Township 



Tngebert Grodalil 
Barnes Township 




Knudt M. Grodahl 
Barnes Township 



Otis C. Grote 
Sioux Rapids 



Charles E. Gulling Charles Gustaf Gustafson 

Washington Township Sioux Rapids 




Eric J. Gustafson 
Storm Lake 



John A. Gustafson 
Albert City 



Carl R. Gustavson Ivar V. Gustafson 

Maple Valley Township Maple Valley Township 




William T. Gutel 
Washington Township 



UUo Liutz 
Newell 



Vernon Hiiahr 
Coon Township 



Conrad Haaland 
Sioux Rapids 



rc- 



^'N 



m 




Oscar C. Haaland 
Sioux Rapids 



Harry Haarup 
Washington Township 



Lloyd B. Haburn 
Hayes Township 



Albert Hackerson 
Fairfield Township 




Clarence Edgar Hageman 
Sioux Rapids 



Burl J. Haight 
Brooke Township 



Walter George Hale 
Lee Township 



Albert F. Halverson 
Lee Township 



94 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA \ISTA COUNTY 



GIXCERIST, CHABI^ES V. 
Sioux Rapids 

Born May 21. 1S91. Enl. .May 2U, IMIT. Pvt. 
Co. M, 168th Inf. 42d Div. Trained: Cherokee, 
Iowa, from May to August 20. 1917; to Des 
Moines two weeks; to Camp Mills for two 
weeks. Left U. S. October 18 from Hoboken 
on U. S. S. President Grant; returned and went 
over on Celtic: landed Liverpool. Crossed 
Channel to Le Havre November 25, 1917. To 
Rimacourt until October 1; to Lorraine front 
October 1 to June 15, 1918; went over top 
March 9, 1918; with Co. M took railroad at 
Baccarat; to Champagne .July 4: in offensive 
from July 14 to 20: moved to Chateau-Thierry 
from July 21 to 28; wounded in arm and 
shoulder by high explosive shell July 28; to 
Field Hosp. No. 4; to Base Hosp. No. 116; to 
Vichy; trans, to Base Hosp. No 8; at Savenay 
September 25; to Brest. Sailed for U. S. Octo- 
ber 8; landed Newport News October 21. To 
Fort Des Moines October 26. Mustered out 
July 14, 1919. 



GIIiI^IIiAND, rtOYD H. 
Storm Iiake 

Born July 25, 1892. Enl. May 15. 1917. 1st 
Lieut., Co. E, 350th Inf. 88th Div. Trained: 
Ft. Snelling and Camp Dodge. Promoted to 
2d Lieut; to 1st Lieut. Sailed for France; was 
overseas from .^Xugust 11. 1918. to May 30, 
1919. Center Hautp-.\lsace sector October 4 to 
November 1; Argonne-Meuse November 8 to 11. 
Mustered out June 20, 1919, 



GII.I.ISFII:, WILLIAM K, 
Marathon 
Born June 8. 1900. Enl. October 1, 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained: Iowa State College. 
Mustered out December 9, 1918. 



GLO'WCZEWSXY, EUGENE C. 

Storm Iiake 

Born February 25, 1888. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Bugler, Co. A, 352d Inf. 88th Div. Trained: 
Camp Dodge; to Camp Mills. Sailed for Eng- 
land August 30, 1918. Saw active service; 
short time in Germany; now at Ribeaucourt, 
France. 



GLOWCZEWSKY, GEORGE A. 
Storm Lake 

Born April 7, 1898. Enl. May 2, 1918. Sec, 
Yeoman, Co. IS Rest. B. Trained: O. L. N. 
T. S.; trans, to Brooklyn Navy Yard. Mustered 
out at Brooklyn. June 1, 1919, 



GOETHE, LOUIS FREDERICK 

Grant Towusliip 

Born July 12, 1887. Enl. February 20, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. I, 130th Inf. 33d Div. Trained with 
original assignment with Co. E, 351st Regt. 
Left U. S. May 18, 1918. 



GOLDSMITH, ROLAND E. 

Storm Lake 

Born December 13, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, 315th Inf. 79th Div. Trained: 
Camp Gordon one month; Co. D, 4th Replm. 
Regt.; to Camp Merritt. Sailed for France 
from Hoboken on U. S. S. Plattsburg, August 
30, 1918; landed Brest September 12, To rest 
camp one week; to St. George two weeks; 
assigned to Co, E, 315th Inf, 79th Div.; to 
Verdun sector; Belleau sector for two weeks, 
wounded in right forearm by piece of shrap- 
nel; to field hosp. out of Verdun: to Base 
Hosp. No. 28 for two months; to Base Hosp. 
No. 114 at Bordeaux three months. Sailed 
March 19 on U. S. rf. Henderson: landed at 
Hoboken April 2. To Debarkation Hosp. No, 
3 twelve days; to Ft. Des Moines. Mustered 
out July 2, 1919. 



GOODNESS, F. V. 

Storm Lake 

Born .\pril 5. 1890. Enl. December 15. 1917. 
Sergt. Ist-cl, Med. Corps. Trained at Camp 
Dodge and Fort Des Moines. Promoted from 
pvt. to Corp.. May 15, 1918: to sergt., July 1. 
1918: to sergt. Ist-cl., June 1, 1919. Still in 
service. 



GRAN, ALBERT G, 
Storm Lake 
Born September 22. 1889. Enl. July 15. 1918. 
1st Lieut, in Med. Corps. Trained: Camp 
Meade; in base hosp. at Camp Meade; to Camp 
Greenleaf, M. O. T. C. Mustered out May 28, 
1919. 



GRAN, RUDOLPH ARTHUR 

Storm Lake 
Born December 6, 1891. Enl. Dec. 12, 1917. 
Ist-cl. Storekeeper. Co. F, 3d Regt., Cth Div. 
Trained: G. L. N. T. S. Promoted from app. 
seaman to Ist-cl. storekeeper. Transported 
troops and provisions from IJ. S. to Bordeaux; 
on land transport General W. C. Gorgas, 
Mustered out July 14, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA \^LSTA COl'XTY 



95 



CrREENE, EDWARD ICELAND 

Stonn Iiake 
Born January 25, 1883. Enl. March 14. 1916. 
2d Lieut.. 10th Batt. King'.s Own Yorkshire 
Light Inf. 21st Div. 64th Brigade. Trained: 
at Rugeley Camp, Stafford. England. Com- 
missioned 2d Lieut. January, 1919. Served as 
platoon commander with the 10th K. O. Y. L. 
I. C Co., No. 10. Platoon; on the Arras front 
June to August, 1916; later the battery moved 
to the Somme region and took part in the 
battle of the Somme, capturing the village of 
Fluer; on the 17th of September while wait- 
ing for a relieving battery was wounded and 
sent home. Recovered from wounds and w'as 
trans, to Corps of Royal Eng. ; again in action 
on many fronts until sent home in the latter 
part of 1918. Still in home service. 



GREENGO, ROYAI. EUGENE 
Sioux Rapids 

Born July .3, IS'.U. i:nl. July 23. 191S. Pvt. 
Recruit Co. No. 14. Motor Transport Corps. 
Trained: Camp Maybray for two months; to 
Kelly Field No. 1 for six weeks; to Camp John 
Wise for two months' cour.se in telephone 
work. Mustered out January 24, 1919. 



GRIENKE, BUDOI.F C. F. 

Nokomis Township 

Born September 22. 1894. Enl. August 5, 
1918. Sgt. 617th Motor Transport Corps. 
Trained: Jefferson Barracks; Waco, Texas; to 
Camp Merritt. Sailed from Hoboken on U. S. 
S. President Grant September 18; landed St. 
Nazaire October 6. To St. Aignan, trans, to 
lieth Amm. Train; slightly wounded; to Paris, 
trans, to 617th M. T. C. Sailed from Brest on 
U. S. S. President Grant December 11; landed 
Hoboken December 25. To Camp Merritt. 
Mustered out January 8, 1920. Married while 
in France to Miss Lucette Raymond. 



GREY, WALTER STEWART 
Ijee Tcwnship 
Born October 31, 1898. Enl. October 11, 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained; Buena Vista Col- 
lege, Storm Lake, Iowa Mustered out Decem- 
ber 13, 1918. 

GRODAHI., INGEBERT 

Barnes Township 

Born April 1. isa."!. Enl, July 24. 1918. Corp. 
4th Replm. Regt. Trained at Camp Gordon; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out January 9, 1919. 



GREGERSON, ADOI.FH 
Nokomis Township 

Born February 9, 1897. KnI. September 5, 
1918. Pvt. Co. F, 88th Regt. 19th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge from September 5 to January 
24, 1919. Mustered out January 24, 1919. 



GREGG, DEKTON B. 

Storm Iiake 

Born September 27, 1895. Enl. June 22, 
1915. Sgt. Hdq. Co. 168th Inf. 42d Div. 
Trained: spent winter of 1915-1916 with regt. 
at Brownsville, Texas; when called for over- 
seas service joined his regiment at Cherokee. 
Iowa; trained at State Fair Grounds at Des 
Moines; to Camp Mills. Sailed from Hoboken, 
October 18; returned to port October 28; left 
again November 14; landed Liverpool Decem- 
ber 1. To Winchester; to Southampton: to Le 
Havre. To Rimacourt; to Baccarat in Lor- 
raine sector February 26 to June 19, 1918; 
Champagne July 2 to 20; Chateau-Thierry July 
25 to August 5; St. Mihiel September 12 to 
September 26; Argonne October 12 to 24; Base 
Hosp. No. 202 at Orleans October 26 to Jan- 
uary 10. 1919. Sailed from Brest March 5; 
landed Newport News, March 18, 1919. 
Mustered out March 28, 1919. 



GRODAHI., KNUDT M. 
Barnes Township 

Born October 8. lss7. I'^nl. September 20. 
1917. Pvt. Co. H, 9th Regt., 2d Div. Trained: 
Camp Dodge two months; to Camp Pike seven 
months; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from Ho- 
boken on Anselm June 20, 1918; landed Liver- 
pool July 1, 1918. To Winchester two days; 
to Southampton; to Cherbourg. To St. George 
Training Camp for two weeks; moved toward 
Paris, billeted there ten days; to Nancy; to 
Morbecque; to St. Mihiel drive; to Champagne 
drive ten days; to Argonne drive eleven days, 
w-hen armistice was signed; took sick Novem- 
ber 20, and was sent to hospital at AUevay for 
five weeks; to Toul one month; to Bordeaux 
one month. Sailed from Bordeaux March 25, 
on Luckenbach; landed Hoboken .April 5. To 
Camp Mills; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
April 24. 1919. 

GROTE, OTIS C. 

Sioux Rapids 

Born November 2fi. 1899. Enl. .\pril 20, 
1917. Coxswain on Miwaiu. Trained: G. L. 
N. T. S.; Transferred to. U S. S, Rhode Island; 
to Miwaiu. Made five comnl^te 'rios across; 
three to France; two to Italy. Mustered out 
January 28. 1919. 



96 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



GROVE, EIiMEB EIiDRED 
Newell 

Born July 9, 1888. Enl. October 16, 1318. 
Pvt. Veterinary Corps. 24th Hosp. Unit. 
Trained at Camp Lee. Mustered out January 
15. 1919. 



GVI.I.ING, CHABXES E. 
Washing-ton Township 

Born October L'.'i. ISHG. ICnl. September 6. 
1918. Pvt. 87th Inf. 19th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge with Depot Supply Co. Mustered 
out January 27. 1919. 



GURNEY, BERT 
Alta 

Born August 26, 1895. Enl. February 23, 
1918. Sergt. Co. H. 56th Regt. Searchlight, 
Eng-., 2nd Army Corps Div. Trained at Camp 
Dodge. Co. B. 313th Eng.; Washington Barraclts, 
Co. H. 65th Regt. Sailed from Newport News 
August 14. 1918; landed Brest August 26. To 
Paris, September 5; to Columbey; to Les 
Bele October 15; to Thiaucourt; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed on Nancemond February 25; landed 
Newport News March 11, 1919. To Camp Mor- 
rison; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out March 
22, 1919. 



GUSTAPSON, J. ERIC 
Storm Iiake 

Born October 21, 1890. Enl. January 7, 1918. 
Medical Examiner, Enlisted Reserve Corps of 
Illinois. Began service in Med. Enl. R. C. as 
pvt.; passed examination for hospital service 
in Med. Officers' Corps; on Med. Adv. Board 
J-3. Chicago; on Exemption Board at Chicago; 
Examiner Enlisted Reserve Corps, of Illinois. 
Mustered out January 9, 1919. 



GUSTAVSON, CARI; R. 
Maple Valley Township 

Born June 29, 1890. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. B, 10th Ammunition Force 10th 
Div. Trained: Camp Funston three months; 
drove trucks from Detroit to Baltimore for 
three months; transferred to Camp Funston. 
Mustered out January 29. 1919. 



GUSTAFSON, IVAB V. 

Maple Valley Township 

Born January 23, 1896. Enl. July 24, 1918. 

Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Inf. Trained at Camp 

(.Gordon for six months; trans, back to Camp 

Dodge. Mustered out January 9, 1919. 



GUSTAFSON, CKABI.es GVSTA7 

Sioux Rapids 

Born December 31, 1887. Enl. November 29. 
1917; called January 15, 1918. Trained at 
Austin. Texas; Camp Dick; Dorr Flying Field; 
Barron Field. Second Lieutenant. Instructor 
in cross-country flying at Barron Field. 
Injured in crash February 15, 1918. Now 
(October 20, 1918) in liospital at Ft. Sheridan. 



GUSTAFSON, JOHN A. 
Albert City 
Born January 17. 1895. Enl. July 25. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. M, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained: 
Camp Gordon; Camp Merritt. Sailed from 
New York August 30 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; 
landed Brest September 12. To St. George; to 
Verdun; to Genicourt; joined 79th Div. on 
October 25; helped capture Hill 378 on Novem- 
ber 4; relieved on November 7; back in front 
lines on November 10 and holding lines when 
armistice was signed; November 15 to Camp 
near Reville; to Heippes; to Tiftanges; to St. 
Nazaire. Sailed on U. S. S. Kroonland May 
16; landed Hoboken May 26, 1919. To Camp 
Dix; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 8, 
1919. 



GUTEI., WII.I.IAM T. 
Washington Township 

Born August 13, 1895. Enl. February 25, 
1918. Pvt. Ist-cl.. Co. E, 351st Inf., 88th Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge; trans, to Camp Hous- 
ton; to Camp Upton two weeks. Sailed from 
Camp Upton May 16 on U. S. S. Mt. Vernon; 
landed Brest May 24. To Abbeville June 9; to 
Amiens sector June 20 to August 23; to Trou- 
ville-en-Barrois in Toul sector August 26; to 
Verdun sector September 6; engaged in Meuse- 
Argonne offensive September 26 to November 
11; moved to Luxemburg Deceniber 1; sta- 
tioned there until March 1. 1919; to Brest. 
Sailed on U. S. S. Mt. Vernon May 9; landed 
New Tork May 17. To Camp Mills; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out May 26, 1919. 



GUTZ, OTTO 

Newell 
Born January 9, 1888. Enl. December 10, 
1917. Chauffeur 23d Balloon Co. Trained at 
Kelly Field. Promoted from pvt. to chauffeur. 
Further instruction at Camp Morriston. Saw 
service in France at Coetquidan. Sailed from 
France January 11. 1919. Mustered out Febru- 
ary 11, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



97 



HAAHR, ASOI.fr MARINUS 

Alta 
Born December 27, 1892. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A. 316th Inf., T9th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon in Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. 
Sailed from New York September 1; landed 
Brest September 13. To St. George; to Meuse 
sector, entered line of fighting October 20. and 
remained in line of fighting until November 11; 
to training camp; to Deuxmond; to Orquevaux: 
to Rimacourt; to Nantes. To St. Nazaire. 
Sailed on U. S. S. Texan; landed Philadelphia. 
May 29, 1919. To Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
June 8. 1919. 



HAABUF, HARRY 

Washingiiou Township 
Born April 19, 1891. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Corp. 79th Div., Military Police. Trained at 
Camp Gordon, pvt. Co. A. 4tli Keplm, Inf.; to 
Camp Merritt. Sailed on U. S. S. Plattsburg 
September 1; landed France September 13. 
To Argonne sector; took part in Meuse-Argonne 
Trojan drives; at Switzerland, border guard- 
ing troop train; stationed at Verdun wlien town 
was shelled. Sailed from St. Nazaire May 16; 
landed Philadelphia May 28; sailed on boat 
Dakota. To Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out June in. 1919. 



KAAHR, VERNOIT 
Coon Township 
Born April 25, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Ist-cl. Co. E, 313th Inf., 79th Div. Trained 
at Camp Gordon until August 25. Left U. S. 
from Hoboken on U. S. S. Plattsburg in Sep- 
tember; landed Brest September 12. To St. 
Georges until September 30; joined 79th Div. 
at Ruft and moved to Verdun sector October 
28; in Meuse sector on Verdun front from 
November 4 to 11; moved from front November 
13 to Duie; trans, to Verdun November 27; to 
Base Hosp. No. 42 December 9 to January 17, 
1919; to La Fuch April 23; to Cholet; to St. 
Nazaire May 11. Sailed on Pasando May 16; 
landed Newport News June 2. To Camp Hill; 
to Camp Stewart; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out June 12, 1919. 

HAAI.AND, CONRAD 
Sioux Rapids 

Born November 19, 1898. Enl. January 1, 
1917. Gunnery Sergt., Marine Corps. Trained 
at Paris Island. At the present is in radio 
service, having been trans, from Mare I.sland 
to Marine Detachment, Pekin, China. 

HAAI.ANII, OSCAR C. 
Sioux Rapids 

Born May 30, 1896. Enl. May 25, 1917. Pvt. 
Ist-cl. Co. E, 168th Inf. 42d Div. Trained at 
Sheldon. Iowa, and Des Moines. Iowa. Sailed 
on U. S. S. Baltic November 3, 1917; out four 
days and returned to port for repairs; left 
again three weeks later and landed Liverpool in 
December. After two weeks went to Le Havi'e. 
To training camp at Parancey for 30 days; 
ordered to Baccarat for three weeks, outfitted 
for front; to Lorraine; to Champagne; to the 
Aisne and Marne rivers in the Chateau-Thierry 
fight; to St. Mihiel; to Meuse-Argonne; to 
Sedan; marched to Germany; to Brest, April 
7. Landed Hoboken April 25, 1919; made trip 
on the Leviathan. Mustered out May 23, 1919. 



HABURN, I.I.OYD E. 
Hayes Township 

Born April 4. 1896. Enl. September 19, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. G, 350th Inf. and Co. F, 347th Inf. 
Trained at Camp Dodge; Camp Pike; trans, 
to Little Rock, Arkansas, wliere he served in 
Provost Guard Co. Mustered out at Camp 
Dodge January 2, 1919. 



HACKERSON, AI-BERT 
Fairfield Township 

Born May 6, 1893. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. E, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon July 26 to August 26. Sailed on U. S. 
S. Plattsburg August 28; landed September 
10, at Brest. To St. Georges; to Verdun, there 
assigned to the 79th Div.; October 23 at Ar- 
gonne-Meuse sector, gassed and shell-shocked 
November 1; November 15 to American Field 
Hosp. No. 8; to American Base Hosp. No. 
80 at Beaume, November 18; left December 
18 for Bordeaux to American Base Hosp. No. 
106; February 10 to Brest. Sailed on the 
U. S. S. Great Northern February 22; landed 
Hoboken March 3, 1919. To Debarkation Hosp. 
No. 2 at Staten Island; March 14 to Camp 
Dodge Base Hosp. Mustered out May 1, 1919. 



HADI.EY, FRED WII.BUR 

Rembrandt 
Born October 8, 1889. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Supp. Co. 23d Inf. 2d Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Sailed August 28; landed Brest 
September 12. Deiiarkrd sick witli "liu"; t'l 
Verdun front October 12 with 5th Div. 6th 
Inf. until armistice was signed; transferred to 
2d Div.; hiked 600 kilos, to guard the Rhine; 
to Coblenz; left Coblenz May 21. Sailed for 
U. S. June 12 on U. S. S. Great Northern; 
landed New York June 19, 1919. Received 
some training while in France at Le Mans 
and Lasoye. Mustered out July 11, 1919. 





ter''^^^ 



Delbert M. Halverson 
Barnes Township 



Marvin B. Halverson 
Barnes Township 



Tennis O. lialverson 
Barnes Township 



Russell R. Hamm 
Marathon 




Knute W. Hammerstrom Carl C. Hansen 

Marathon Newell 



Lars Hansen 
Providence Township 



Marcus E. Hansen 
Nokomis Township 




Ross H. Hansen 
Nokomis Township 



Theodore Ole Hansen 
Fairfield Township 



Cliarlev B. Hanson 
Elk Township 



Hans C. Hanson 
Elk Township 




Harvey F. Hanson 
Newell 



Jens C Hanson 
Scott Township 



Jesse O. Hanson 
Barnes Township 



Myron Henry Hanson 
Barnes Township 




Wilford Hanson 
Lee Township 



Ivar V. Harald 
Albert City 



George W. Hardyman 
Storm LaKe 



Amandel Haroldson 
Barnes Township 





Comyn Haroldson 
Rembrandt 



Edward S. Haroldsim Henry L. Haroldson 

Barnes Township Scott Township 



Talelta Haroldson 
Barnes Township 



lOO 



U).\\)K kOl.L ()[' ISUJiXA \ ISTA COLNIA 



HAGEMAM', CI.ARENCE EDGAR 

Sioux Rapids 
Born j!ii\U!uy IJ, ISSUi. ICiil. November 26. 
1>>17. Cook lst-i-1. TnUiied at G. L. N. T. S. 
Sailed from Newport News on U. S. S. West- 
erner June 20; landed St. Nazaire AuKust 25. 
To Ua rolioe; to Newport News; to Trieste. 
Austria; to Newport News; to St. Nazaire; 
to New York; to G, 1- N. T. S. Mustered out 
August 2SI. liiUi. 



HAIGHT, TREVOR TAI.MAGE 
Brooke Towusliip 
Born March ■). ISiU. Knl. April 'J. 1918. 
Sergt.. 2d Hegt. F. A. K. D. SSth IMv. Trained: 
I'vt. in Co. C. Technical School. Madison. 
Wisconsin; to Field Artillery Oflicers' Train- 
ini; School, t^amp Taylor; pronioted to coi'p. 
June 12; to sergt. July 12. Mustered out No- 
vember 30. ISIS. 



HAIGHT. BURI. J. 
Brooke Township 
Born February 11. 1888. Knl. October 4. 
1917. Sergt. Co. O. 3(;2d Inf. 'list Div. Trained 
at t^amp Lewis and Montigney-le-Uoi. Finance. 
Sailed July t> on Kinpress of liussia from New 
York: hmded Liverpool July 17. IS'18. To Le 
Havre July 21. Trained in the Pept. of Meuse 
until September 1; ordered to reserves at St. 
Mihiel: to Arsonne sector lielow Verdun; took 
charge (^f trenches September 20; over the 
top Se|>tember 26; to hosp. October 1. very 
slightl.v wounded; div. ordered to go to the 
Flanders front in Belgiun\ October 10; joined 
the div, on November !': started toward the 
front and was under tire for a few hours be- 
fore the Uth of November, Ueturned to l'. S. 
To Camp Merritt: to Fort P. A, Uussell. 
Mustered out May 1, 19iy. 



HAIGHT, HARRY M. 

Elk Township 
Born November :i. ISSS. i;nl. July 12. 1!>15. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. B, 142d Inf.. 36th Piv. Trained 
with Co. M. 2ii Unva Inf.. 34th l>iv, at t.'an»i> 
Cody: trans, to 127th M. O. Bn. in October. 
1017; to Co. I. lS3d Inf. December 24: to M. O. 
Bn. 133d Inf. March 1, 1018. Sailed October 
IS: landed Liverpool October 24. 1018. sailed 
on Knglish ship .\nchises. Went forward with 
replacement troops November 8: was attached 
to Co. B. 142d Inf.. StUh Piv.: spent winter 
with 36th Piv, in 16th Training Area, Sailed 
from Brest on cruiser Pueblo May 10, 1010: 
landed May 31. 1010. Mustered out June 9, 
1019. 



HAIGHT, HOMER A. 
Elk Tcwnsliip 
Born December 1. 1S06. Knl. July 15. 1018. 
Trained at G, L. N, T. S.; made three trips on 
the .\niphion bringing home troops: at present 
in L'. S. Naval Hosp. recovering from injuries 
received from a fall on ship. 



HAI.E. WAI.TER GEORGE 
Iiee Township 

Horn September 27. ISOO. l-:nl. September 

21. 1017. Pvt. Co. I, 345th Inf. 87th Piv. 
Trained at Camp Podge September 21 to No- 
vember 23, 1017: Camp Pike, November 25 to 
June 15, 1018: Camp Pix June 15 to October 

22. 1918. Left New York on Cedric October 
24: landed Liverpool September 5. To South- 
ampton: to I,.e Havre September 0, To south- 
eastern France: to Facey: attended gas school 
until the armistice was signed: to Brest Pe- 
cember 8, Sailed on Agamemnon December 28: 
landed Hoboken Januai'y 5. 1010. Mustered 
out January IS. 1010. 



HAIiVERSON, AI.BERT F. 
Iiee To'wnship 
Born August 11. 1802. Knl. July 24. 191S. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. M and Hdijrs. 316th Regt. Inf. 
79th Div. Trained at Camp Gordon from 
Jul.v 25 to August 22. Sailed from Hoboken on 
I'. S. S. Plattsburg: landed Brest September 
12. To St. Georges for training from Septem- 
ber IS to October 10; to Verdun front Octol>er 
12: trans, to Issencourt and remained there 
until November 11; on patrol duty until Janu- 
ary 1. 1010: stationed at Heipps until Febru- 
ary 8. 1010: to Trampot from Februar.v 26 to 
April 1: to Clisson until May 15. Sailed from 
St. Nazaire on l". S. S. Texan May 17; landed 
at Philadelphia May 20. To Camp Pix; to 
Camp Podge. Mustered out June 8, 1919. 



HAI.VERSON. DEI.BERT M, 
Barnes Township 

Born August 7. lS;i6, lOiil. June 2S. 1017. 
Sergt, 15th Kegt, Aviation. Marine Reserve 
Flying Corps. Trained at Navy Yard Phila- 
delphia: to O. L, N. T. S.: reported June 28. 
lOlS. at Marine Bairacks. Lca.gne Island: de- 
tached aviation duty at G, L. N. T. S.; tempo- 
rary compan.N' commander. Keleased from 
Marine Flying Field, Miami. Florida. February 
20. 1019. 



HONOR ROI. 



Ol 



I'.UEN'A \1STA e'Ol'X'lA' 



lOI 



HAIiVERSON, MARVIN B. 
Barnes Township 
Boin February 4, 18117. linl. September 5, 
11)18. Pvt. Co. F, 88th Uegt., 10th Dlv.; trans. 
to Mefl. Corp.s. Wnvl De.s Moines. Trulnoil at 
<'amp Dodge nine inonth.s; to Fort I'>e.s Moines 
iliiMl Octiilior I'll, llllll. Mustered out Oi-tolior 

UN. mill. 

hai.vi:rson, tennis O. 
Barnes Township 

Horn Hi'iitciiilicr 1:;, i.siil. Ku\. .lul.v 2t. 11118. 
Pvt. ("o. IJ, .'illith Inf. "lUh Dlv. Trained at 
Camp (lordon three weeks; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed on V. S. S. PlattsburR August SO; 
landed Brest Seiitember 12. To St. (leorges; 
to \'erdun sector September 30; under shell 
fire at Ai'gonne for twenty-one days; al'ter 
armistice to Serecourt and Donnur about a 
month; to Uimaucourt; to Georges two weeks; 
to St. Nazaire. Sailed May IG on U. S. S. 
Texan; landetl Philadelphia May 20. 'I''o ('amp 
Dix; to Canip i lod^e. Mustered out June 8, 
1010. 

HAMM, RUSSEI.I. R. 

Marathon 
Born Decenibcr 21, 1800. lOiil. October 1, 
1018. Pvt. 10th Int. S. A. T. C. Trained at 
Iowa State College — studied electrical engi- 
neering. Mustered out December 18, 1018. 

HAMMERSTROM, KNUTE W. 
Marathon 

Born .luly 2(1, 1808. Kn\. Scptcinlicr 2. 1010. 
Pvt. lOth Co. .''ith Marines, 2d Dlv. Trained 
at Paris Island to December 2; on board Bat- 
tleship New Hampshire to Santo Domingo, 
I'Jast Indies; stationed at Santo Domingo on 
guard duty January, 1917. to Novcmlior, 1017; 
returned to tlie U. S. In December, 1917. Sailed 
from New Yoi'k Di'cember 8. 1017. on S. S. De- 
Kalb; landed St. Nazaire December 25. To 
Brcauvannes and trained there until Marc^h 
12, 1018; to Verdun sector March IS until A|iril 
15; to Belleau Woods; in offensive fr-om .lune 
C to 17; held lines alongside until Jui.v 10; to 
Soissons sector and engaged in battle July 
18 to 20; to Toul sector and engaged In St. 
Mihlel offensive September 12 to 18; to Cham- 
jiagne and engaged in offensive from Seiitem- 
luM- .'10 to Octobei* 4; wounded by high explo- 
sive shell in both thighs, itnee, shouhler and 
head; taken to K. C. l-losp. No. 5, Paris until 
January 15, 1010; to Blols to January 30. 
Sailed from St. Nazaire on Princess Matoka, 
February 2; landed Newport News Feb. 14. 
To Quaiitico, Virginia; sixty day furlougii; re- 
turned for discharge on account of disa,billty at 
Quantico. Mustered out .lunc 13, 1010. 



HANSEN, CARIi C. 
Newell 
Born August 4, 1802. Knl. April 1. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 332d Inf. 83d Div. -l-r-.-uncd at 
Camp Sherman. Landed Liverpool June 15. To 
Soutliamplon; crossed Knglish Channel on cat- 
tle boat to Le Havre. To Mandres from June 
10 to July 2(') drilling ten liours every da.v; 
under order of (leneral Pei'shing regt. sent to 
Italy; to Villa, France; to Valeggio; October 28 
to Trevlso, Italy, until ordered to firing line; 
battalion re-located at Trevlso on Thanksgiv- 
ing day, hiked all the way four days; to Genoa. 
Sailed from Genoa, Italy on Italian ship Duke 
A'osta February 20; landed New Yor'k April 
13. To Camp Merritt; following Monday 
paraded in New York (^ity from Washington 
to 02d Street on I'^iflli A\'enue. Mustered out 
May 2. 1910. 



HANSEN, I.ARS 

Providence Township 

Born April 10. I KOI. Mni. February 25, 1018. 
Pvt. Co. II, llOlii inf. 30th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodgi-; Camp Sevier; Camp Merritt. 
Sailed on Ilaverfoid from Philadelphia Ma.v 
II; landed Liverpool May 27. To Dover; to 
Calais, 'i'o Atlantic; to Belgium near Ypres; 
to St. I'ol; t<i St. Quentin sector. In attaclc 
on Hindenburg lino September 20; captured 
by Germans when wounded by machine gun 
liullet In shoulder and shrapnel In hip; to Ger- 
man hosp. In northern France; to Prison 
('amp Merrill in (icrmnri.\' for one month; to 
Camp Geeson until November 18; to Metz to 
casual camp; to comjiany at Wewaan; to Le 
Mans; to St. Nazaire. Sailed on U. S. S. 
ilc'i'on Marcii 21. 1010; landed Ciiiirleston, S. C., 
April 3. To Caini> .lackson; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out Aiiril 12, 1919. 



HANSEN, MARCUS E. 
NokonilB Township 
Born November 21, 1893. Knl. May 17, 
1917, Sergt, Ist-cl. Med. Dept. Trained at 
Presidio, California, 7 weeks; to Camp I lodge. 
Promoted to corp., to sergt., to sergt. Ist-cl. 
Served for 23 months In Medical Dept. at 
Base IIosp. at Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
July 10. 1010. 

HANSEN, ROSS H. 
Nokoinls Township 
Born March 29, 1896. Enl. April 20, 1018. 
Seaman. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. Sailed 
from Norfolk May 24, 1018 on S. S. Mongolia; 
landed Brest ,lune 8. To Aviation Station at 
Panilac; to Primboef Aviation Station for 



I02 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



Ave months; to St. Nazalre. Sailed for U. S. 
on Susquehanna November 25; landed Norfolk 
December 15. Came home on furlough for 
15 days. Sent to Key West for three months; 
sailed along coast to Charleston; sent to St. 
Louis. Mustered out July 3. 1919. 



HANSON, HABVEY F. 

Newell 

Born April 16, 1896. Knl. January 5. 1918. 
Machinist's Mate. Air Squadron No. 3, Naval 
Aviation. Trained at Charleston, S. C; at 
Ponsacola. Florida, in flying. Mustvred out 
February 5, 1919. 



HANSEN, THEODORE OI.E 

FairHeld Township 

Born March 30, 1887. Enl. July 25, 1918. 
Pvt. M. G. Co. 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained 
at Camp Gordon; Camp Merritt. Sailed from 
New York August 30 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; 
landed Brest September 12. To St. George; 
to Verdun: to Issencourt; to Dead Man's Val- 
ley; joined 79th Div. here on November 7; 
November 13 to Etraye until December 27; to 
Chercourt; to Bouisson for three weeks; to 
Cuzon; to St. Nazaire. Sailed May 17 on the 
U. S. S. Texan: landed Philadelphia May 29. 
To Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
June 9, 1919. 



HANSON, CKABI.EY B. 
Elk Township 
Born December 3, 1894. Enl. August 20. 
1918. Pvt. "Wagon Train, Q. M. C. Trained at 
Camp Gordon for three weeks; Camp McClel- 
lan 7 months. To Camp Dodge for mustering 
out. Mustered out April 2. 1919. 



HANSON, HANS C. 
Elk Township 
Born October 11, 1896. Enl. June 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 350th Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge six weeks; to Camp Upton. .Sailed 
for England August 11 on S. S. Delta; landed 
England August 25. Crossed Channel to Cher- 
bourg. To Semur; to Chagne; to front for 
11 days: to Vescemont for two weeks; to 
Toul sector until armistice was signed; 
worked back to St. Nazaire. Sailed on U. S. S. 
Aeolus May 19; landed Newport News May 
30, 1919. To Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
June 7. 1919. 



HANSON, HARRY H. 

Brooke To-wnship 
Born March 13, 1897. Enl. August 14, 1918. 
Mech. Motor Transport Corps. Trained at 
Highland Park College 7 days. Discharged 
August 22, 1918, by reason of physical dis- 
ability. 



HANSON, JENS C. 
Scott Township 

Born February 6, 1897. Enl. September 5. 
1918. Pvt. 15th Balloon Co. 21st Regt., 19th 
Div., Coast Art. Trained at Camp Dodge in 
D. B. for two months; to Ft. Barracks, Pen- 
sacola, Florida, two montlis. during this time 
the armistice was signed and he was sent 
back to Camp Dodge. Mustered out January 
2, 1919, 



HANSON, JESSE O. 

Barnes Township 
Born July 21, 1893. Enl. February 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. E, 351st Inf. 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge until August 7; to Camp Mills. 
Sailed on Scotian from Hoboken August 16; 
landed Liverpool August 28. To Brockwood; 
to Camp Stony Castle; to Cherbourg September 
2. To Les Laumes; hiked to Paulinet Sep- 
tember 7: billeted in an old castle whicli was 
built in the year 1554, after drilling there, left 
September 14 for Champau for further drill; 
into lines October 19 in a quiet sector near the 
Swiss border in Alsace-Lorraine; to Belfort, 
billeted in a village, Chau.x; November 10 to 
Argonne and Meuse fi'ont, but did not get 
into action; arrived Francheville, near Toul; 
at Francheville until November 28; hiked to 
Houdelainscourt, maneuvered and drilled until 
ordered to do convoy work into Germany; May 
4 tjack to Houdelainscourt: to Gondrecourt; to 
Avoys; to St. Nazaire May 18. Sailed on U. S. 
S. Mercury May 20; landed Newport News 
May 31. To Camp Hill two days; to Camp 
Dodge — paraded in city of Des Moines. 
Mustered out June 7, 1919. 



HANSON, nCYRON HENRY 
Barnes Township 

Born December 6, lS9.'i. Enl. February 25, 
1918, Pvt. Co. A, 129th Inf. 33d Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; to Camp Logan: pvt. Co. 
E, 351st Regt. 8Sth Div. at Camp Dodge; pvt. 
Co. A, 129th Inf. 33d Div. at Fort Logan. 
Sailed from Hoboken on Covington May 10; 
landed Brest May 23. To Medeire: to Somnie 
front; maneuvered at Swa-upa-Treze until Sep- 
tember 7; to Verdun September 7; to Vei'dun 
until October 6; gassed in Argonne woods 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 103 



October 6; sent to Base Hosp. No. 23; to Base 
No. 9, October 28; to Le Mans November 16; 
to Forwarding Camp, where he joined original 
CO. at Ettelbruck Ruxenberg December 31; to 
Brest. Sailed from Brest May 15 on Levia- 
than; landed Hoboken, May 22, 1919. Mustered 
out June 2, 1919. 



HANSON, Vrri.FORD 

Iiee To'wuship 
Born November 29, 1895. Enl. February 24, 
1918. Pvt. Co. A, 129th Inf. 33d Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge February 25 to April 5; Camp 
Logan April 5 to May 5, 1918. Left New 
York May 10 on transport Covington; landed 
Brest May 23. At Brest three weeks; to Moline 
Woods two weeks; to Ergries from June 15 to 
30; to Somme front near Corbie for one week; 
to Verdun front August 20; drilled for two 
weeks then went into Argonne drive Septem- 
ber 26; under shell Are from July 19 to Octo- 
ber 5; gassed by mustard near Aisne on 
Meuse river; to Base Hosp. at Vittel from 
October 5 to November 5; to Chatauroux from 
November 5 to Dfcember 7; to St. Agnew 
Casual Camp. Sailed from St. Nazaire Jan- 
uary 5, 1919; landed Newport News Juanuary 
17, 1919; To Camp Funston; to Camp Dodge 
from February 1 to April 29. Mustered out 
April 29, 1919. 



HARDEN GEORGE W. 
Storm Iiake 

Born February 22, 1895. Enl. April 26, i;il8. 
Pvt. M. G. Co., District of Paris. Trained at 
Camp Dodge four months; Camp Upton two 
weeks. Sailed August 14 on Kashmir; landed 
Liverpool August 27. Crossed channel to Cher- 
bourg. To Alsace sector for training for six 
weeks; trans, to Officers' Training School at 
LaVallbone until January 1, 1919; sent to 
Paris eight and one-half months. Sailed for 
U. S. September 27, 1919, on Orizaba; Hnilc d 
Hoboken October 6. To Camp Merritt; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out October 12, 1919. 



HARDYMAN, GEORGE VT. 

Storm liake 
Born September 27, 1889. Enl. April 26, 1918. 
Pvt. 59th Mach. Gun Bn. Trained: Was 
placed in Co. A, 338th M. G. Bn., and three 
weeks later was trans, to Fort Leavenworth 
into the Med. Detach. 5th Field Telegraph Bn. 
Sailed July 7, 1918; landed July 21 in France. 
To Dijon and there attached to the 59th Mach. 
Gun Bn.; sent to front for two months: re- 
joined the battalion at Orleans and was trans, 
into the hospital at that place; January 1 was 



trans, to Military Police duty: left Orleans 
March 19; to Brest March 24. Sailed April 
17; landed Hoboken April 31. 1919. Mii.stered 
out at Fort D. A. Russell May 19, 1919. 



HA^OKD, IVAK V. 

Albert City 
Born November 20. 1896. Enl. September 5. 
1918. Pvt. Signal Corps Hdqrs. Co.. 88th Regt. 
19th Div. Trained at Camp Dodge from 
September 5. 1918, to January 22, 1919. 
Mustered out January 22, 1919. 



HAROIiDSON, AMANDEI^ 

Barnes Townsliip 
Born January 31, 1895. Enl. September 18. 

1917. Pvt. M. G. Co. 363d Regt. 91st Div. 
Trained at Camp Lewis. Left the U. S. July 5, 
191S. on Russian ship Empere; landed Liver- 
pool. Engaged in St. Mihiel offensive; battle 
of the Argonne; and Argonne-Meuse. Returned 
to the U. S. on Haverford, March 21, 1919. 
Mustered out at Ft. D. A. Russell April 15. 
1919. 

HAROI.DSON, COMYN BERNHARDT 

Rembrandt 
Born September 2, 1896. Enl. October 7, 
1915. Chief Yeoman. Trained at G. L. N. T. 
S. Served aboard the U. S. S. Connecticut do- 
ing guard and transport duty. Mustered out 
August 28. 1919. 

HAROI^DSON, EDWARD S. 

Barnes Township 
Born June 4, 1894. Enl. May 25, 1917. Corp. 
Co. B, 5th Eng. Trained at Fort Logan; to 
El Paso: to Corpus Christi. Sailed July 31; 
landed Brest August 12. To Pone-en-Nessen 
barracks five days; to Aisy; to Amancot-on 
Yovve; to Chaligney; to front lines; to St. 
Mihiel sector; September 26 to Minoville two 
weeks; to front at Puvenille Woods October 
9 to November 10; to Thiaucourt; to billets at 
Eyvezen from December 5 to January 1; to 
Rosieres one week; to Francheville; to Brest. 
Sailed February 15, 1919; landed New York 
February 21; sailed on U. S. S. George Wash- 
ington. Mustered out at Camp Dodge March 
25, 1919. 

HAROI.DSON, HENRY I.. 
Scott Township 

Born February 15, 1899. Enl. October 13. 

1918. Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena 
Vista College, Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered 
out December 13. 1918. 





Thov Reuben Haro'dson 
Barnes Towsnhip 



Lyle G. Harrison 
Storm Lake 



Harold Hartley 
Lincoln Township 



Jacob J. Haywood 
Storm Lake 




Raymond E. Heard 

Poland Township 



Englebrecht Constantine 

Hedin 

Sioux Rapids 



Leslie Helberg 
Storm Lake 



Chris F He-nmingson 
Newell 




Elmer E. Henniiif^suu 
Lincoln Township 



Hans C. Henrickson 
Newell 



Walter R. Hensel 
Barnes Township 



Henry \\". 11^;.... .nr^ 
Maple A'alley Township 




John W. Henseling 
Maple Valley Township 



William U. Heschke 
Storm Lake 



Otto E. Hesla 
Linn Grove 



Ko: 1 •■ ' ^^^ 1 li kiiian 
Rembrandt 




Allen Higgins 
Grant Township 



Karl L^ Highley 
Storm Lake 



Burnie Franklin Hildebrand Charles E. Hildebrand 
Marathon Marathon 




Donald Hill 
Storm Lake 



Lvall W. Hinch 
Poland Township 



Merle J. Hines 
Newell 



Rov D. Hissong 
Alta 



io6 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



HAROI.DSON, HERBERT T. 

Rembrandt 
Born September 23, 1888. Enl. April 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, 338th M. G. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp r>odse. 

HAROI.DSOIT, TAIETTA (Nurse) 
Barnes TotohsMp 

Born January in. 188S. Volunteered in Jan- 
uary, 1918; enlisted June 1, 1918. Nurse, U. S. 
A. N. C. Trained at Swedish Hosp., Minneapo- 
lis, three years. Upon enlistment assigned to 
Fort Des Moines for two months: to New 
York three weeks. Sailed September 2 on 
Aquatania; landed Southampton September 9. 
Crossed Channel to Le Havre. To Langres 
Base Hosp. No. 88; stationed near Chaumont 
on duty at Base Hosp. No. 88 and Base Hosp. 
No. 53 until March 1, 1919; trans, back to 
Base Hosp. No. 52 until it was closed on June 
6. 1919. Received French citation at Base 
Hosp. No. 53. To Bordeaux Embarkation Base 
for two weeks; to Saraney three weeks; to 
Kerchun; to Brest. Sailed for U. S. July 8, 
on Emperator; landed Hoboken July 15, 1919. 
To New York ten days; to Ft. Riley for six 
weeks; to Denver. Still in service when this 
information was coinpiled. 

HAROI.DSON', THOR REUBBM- 

Barnes Township 
Born April 26, 1898. Enl. April 20, 1918. 
Pvt. 13th Vet. Hosp. Unit, Vet. Corps. Trained 
at Fort Riley; Camp Lee. Left for France 
October 25; landed France, November 9. 

HARRIS, RAI.FH MTTBBOCK 

Sioux Rapids 

Born January 9. 1899. Enl. April 21, 1917. 
Fireman 2d-cl. on U. S. S Great Northern. 
Trained at G. L. N. T. S.; at Navy Yard. 
Portsmouth, N. H. ; to U. S. S. Kearsarge. 
Sailed from New York December 11, 1917. on 
U. S. S. Antigone; landed at St. Nazaire 
December 25 with 3,000 troops; returned to 
New York and made trip to Brest, France, on 
Antigone; transferred March 20, 1918. to re- 
ceiving ship at New York; to U. S. S. Great 
Northern July 12. Made five trips to Brest 
with troops on Great Northern. Mustered out 
January 23. 1919. 

HARRISOK, I.YT.E G. 

Storm Ziake 

Enl. March 23, 1918. Pvt. Batt. D, 3d F. A. 
6th Div. Trained at Camp Doniphan, assigned 
to Batt. F. 11th Field Artillery, 6th Ui\i- 
slon; transferred to Batt. D, 3d F. A. 6th Div. 
October 7, 191S. Left Brest June 16, 1919, on 
U. S. S. Kansas; landed Newport News June 
27, 1919. Mustered out at Camp Dodge, July 
9, 1919. 



HARRISON, I.YSI.E G. 
Storm Iiake 

Born December 23, 1899. Enl. March 21. 
1918. Pvt. Batt. D, 11th F. A. 6th Div. Trained 
at Fort Sill. Sailed July 14, 1918; landed 
Liverpool July 26. Trained for two and a half 
months at Valdalion, France; and one and a 
lialf montlis at Villouwell; mo\ ed in the 
14th Training Area; Hdq. at Agimy Le Due; 
left for Brest June 9, 1919; transferred from 
Batt. F, 11th P. A. to Batt. D, 3d F. A. Octo- 
ber 7, 1919. Sailed from Brest June 16; landed 
U. S. June 27, 1919. Mustered out July 9, 
1919. 

HARTI.BY, HAROI.D R. 
Iiincoln Township 

Born September 30, 1892. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. L, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Sailed to France. Was in 
foreign ser% ice from August 30, 1918, to Jan- 
uary 9, 1919. On Verdun front October 28 to 
November 3; slightly wounded November 3; 
to hospital 24 days. Sailed for U. S. with 
Casual Co. 113. Mustered out January 27, 
1919. 

HAVII.AND, ARTHUR 
Storm Iiake 
Born December 21, 1895. Pvt. Co. 123, D. B. 
Inf. Trained at Camp Dodge. 

HAWK, JAMES G. 

Marathon 
Born December 16, 1896. Enl. June 11, 1917. 
Sergt. M. G. Co. 20th and 70th Inf. 10th Div. 
Trained at Fort Douglas until June 30, 1918; 
Camp Funston until February 12. 1919. 
Mustered out in August. 1919. 

HAYWOOD, JACOB J. 

Storm liake 

Born November 29, 1895. Enl. April 1917. 
Pvt. Co. D, 103d Motor Supply Train. Trained 
as pvt. Co. M, 168th Inf., 42d Div. at Chero- 
kee, Iowa; to Camp Cody, trans, to Co. D, 103d 
Motor Supply Train, at Camp Cody five 
months; to Detroit and assigned to work in 
Co. D, 103d Motor Supply Train. Sailed over- 
seas. Trans, to Motor Supply Train in 4th 
Div.; later stationed at Coblenz; drove truck 
among number sold by the U. S. Government 
to Poland; was volunteer in Polish Relief 
Expedition; was in England; shell-sliocked. 

HEARD, RAYMOND £. 
Poland Township 

Born April .'.. lliiiii. J-:iil, i ictober 15, 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista 
College. Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered out 
December 13, 1918. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA MSTA COl'XT^' 



107 



HEDIN, ENGI-EBBECHT CONSTANTINI! 

Sioux Rapids 

Born Febiuary 17, 18;i2. Enl. March 19, 
1918. Wagoner, Co. 43 Evacuation Ambu- 
lance. Trained at Fort Riley and Fort Snell- 
ing. Mustered out July 23. 1919. 



HEIiBERG, I.ESI.IE 

Stomi Iiake 
Born March 4, 1897. Enl. April 14. 1917. 
Seaman 2d-cl. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. 
Mustered out at G. L. N. T. S. December 15, 
1917. Enl. in Army September 6, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. 62, 163d D. B. ; trans, to Development Bn. 
A. Trained at Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
November 3IJ, 1918. 



KENRICKSEN, HANS C. 

Newell 
Born .July IS. 18911. KnI. December 13. 1917. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Hdq. Co. 54th Art. C. A. C. 
Trained at Fort Logan with 11th Co. D. 52d 
Am. Tr., 31st Brig. C. A. C. and with Co. 11, 
C. A. C. from December 13 to 27, 1917; to Ft. 
Baker December 27 to May 9, 1918, with San 
Francisco June Replm. Draft; with Hdq. Co. 
54th Art. C. A. C. from May 9 to July 18; with 
52d Amm. Train from July 18 to July 29; 
with 4th Co. 164th D. B. at Camp Funston 
from July 29 to February 5, 1918; at Camp 
Dodge from February 5 to 13, 1918. In Meuse- 
Argonne offensive September 26 to November 
11. 191\. With A. E. V. from June. 1918, to 
January 23. 1919. 



HERBERT, JOHN 

Sioux Rapids 
Born October 10, 1918. Trained at Camp 
Scott as truck driver for the Auto Motive de- 
partment of the Red Cross. Mustered out 
November 5, 1918. Received an honorable 
discharge because of inability to get passport 
on account of German parentage. 



HEMMINGSON, CHRIS T. 

Newell 

Born March 12. 1892. Enl. February 24, 

1918. Pvt. Co. E, 351st Inf. 88th Div. Trained 

at Camp Dodge; Camp Logan; Ft. Bayard. 

Mustered out April 21. 1919. 



HENNINGSON, EI.MER E. 
liincoln To'wnship 

Born February 24, 1890. Enl. February 24. 
1918. Pvt. Co. I, 130th Inf. 33d Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge February 24, to April 5; Camp 
Logan May 7; Camp Upton. Sailed May 15; 
landed Brest May 26. To Camp Duelandville 
June 2; to Embrivlee, June 15; July 1 to Bel- 
lencourt; July 17 at the Somme sector; in 
Somme sector July 17 to 25; to rest camp at 
Allonville Woods: August 1 sent to Australian 
Casual Clearing Station No. 8; trans, to No. 
10 and No. 12; August 8 to Stationary Field 
Hosp. at Long Pre No. 6; August 11 sent to 
Rouen Base Hosp. No. 9; August 23 to Rest 
Camp No. 1 and assigned to 11th Casual Batt.; 
to Winchester. Sailed for U. S. from South- 
ampton December 28; landed January 7, 1919, 
Hoboken. To Camp Mills, January 11; to 
Camp Dix. January 27; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out February 1, 1919. 



KENSEI., WAZ.TER R. 
Barnes Towusliip 
Born March 1, 1895. Enl. July 27, 1918 
Pvt. 61st A. B. N. Trained at Camp Dodge. 



HENSEI.ING, HENRY W. 
m^ple Valley Townsliip 

Born February 7, 1892. Enl, August 23, 
1918. Pvt. Co. D, 1st Bn. Replm. Co. Trained 
at Jefferson Barracks; trans, to Camp Mac- 
Arthur. Mustered out January 10, 1919. 



HENSEIiING-, JOHN Vf. 

Maple Valley Township 
Born September 29, 1890. Enl. May 26, 1918. 
Pvt. D. B. Trained; Camp Dodge six weeks; 
transferred to Fort SnelJing five weeks; to 
Fort Brady 8 months; to Camp Grant for two 
weeks At Ft. Snelling acted in U. S. Guards. 
Mustered out January 22, 1919. 



HESCHKE, WII.I.IAM R. 
Scott Township 

Born .July 4. isiil. Enl. July 23. 1918. Hnrs?- 
shoer, Hdq. Troop. 1st Army. Trained: Camp 
Gordon one month; Camp Merritt. Sailed from 
Hoboken on August 16; on U. S. S. Plattsburg; 
landed Brest August 27. Transferred to Horse 
Shoer School three months at St. John; to St. 
Mihiel; to Ligny; to Toul; to Trier, Germany; 
to Le Mans; to Brest. Sailed for TJ. S. on 
June 27 on Mohstien; landed New York July 
10. To Camp Dodge. Mustered out July 16. 
1919 




Thomas lloai e 
Rembrandt 



Erlwin A. Hoch 
Storm Lake 



Forrest D. Hocil 
Storm Lake 



I'eter HoL-h 
Scott Township 




Forrest L. Hoetie 
Newell 



Harry John Hoffeins 
Alta 



Charles Methia? Hoffman 
Lee Township 



Josephine Hoffman 
Storm Lake 




Aaron Bruce Holderness 

Nokomis Township 



Lars B. Holm 
Rembrandt 



Siverian Holm 
Lincoln Township 



Clarence F. Holmes 
Alta 




riifforil .1. Holmes 
Lee Township 



Enimit Lidvd Hnlr 
Alta 



Forrest G. Holmes 
Storm Lake 



AUlu Holmgren 
Xokomis Township 




Harvey Allen Hood 
Storm Lake 



Chester Hostetler 
Maple Valley Township 



Gall W. Householder 
Newell Township 



John Wiliiam Huber 
Truesdale 




Arthur P. Hughes 
Storm Lake 



David James Hughes 
Storm Lake 



Everett L. Hughes 
Storm Lake 



Wilbur F. Hughes 
Storm Lake 



no 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



HEIiSA, OTTO E. 
lainn G-rove 

Born September 22, 1897. Enl. October, 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at St. Olafs Col- 
lege, Northfield, Minn. Mustered out Decem- 
ber 11, 1918. 



HIITES, IflERIiE J. 

Newell 

Born May 27, 1898. Enl. October 11, 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista 
College, Storm Lalse, Iowa. Mustered out 
December 13, 1918. 



HICKMAN, FORREST W. 

Rembrandt 
Born May 22, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon from July to November. 191S; 
to Camp Shelby from November to December, 
1919. Mustered out December 30, 1918. 



hii.si:brand, bvrnii: frankiiIN 
Marathon 

Born October 7, 1895. Enl. June 5, 1917. 
Radio Operator, Navy. Trained at G. L. N. T. 
S. : Harvard Radio School. Promoted from 
app. seaman to S. 2d-cl., to El. 3d-cl., to El. 
2d-cl., to El. Ist-cl. Mustered out October 
10, 1919. Served on U. S. S. Michisan and 
U. S. S. Kansas. 



HIGGINS, AIiIiEN 

Grant Township 
Born June 1, 1898. Enl. October 11, 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista 
College. Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered out 
December 13, 1918. 



HII.I., DONAI.D 

Storm Iiake 
Born November 19. 1895. Enl. September 
19, 1917. Sgt. Co. E, 350th Inf. 88th Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge. Sailed from New 
York on H. M. S. Delta August 11; landed Lon- 
don August 28. To Romsey for one week; to 
Soutliampton; to Clierbourg. Trained two 
weeks at Cherbourg; in front lines of Haute- 
Alsace. sector from October 5 to November 2 ; 
to reserve on Toul sector November 5; to Gon- 
drecourt December 1 ; attended A. E. F. Univ. 
at Beauve from Marcli 5 to May 15. Sailed 
from St. Nazaire on U. S. S. Madawaska May 
25; landed New York June 5, 1919. Mustered 
out July 15, 1919. 



HINCH, I.VAI.I. W. 
Poland Township 

Born November 7, 1896. Enl. May 1, 1918. 
Seaman Ist-cl. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. from 
May 1 to May 25. Promoted to seaman Ist-cI. 
Left V. S. from Newport News on transport 
Mongolia May 28; landed Brest June 11. 1918. 
To Pouillac, France, and was stationed there 
from June 14 to November 29; left Pouillac 
November 29. Arrived New York December 
11, 1918. To Pelham Bay Training Station 
December 12 and remained there until Jan- 
uary 6. 1919. Mustered out January 6, 1919. 



HIIiSEBRAND, CHARI.ES E. 

Marathon 
Born November 19, 1894. Enl. June 6, 1917. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Hdq. Troop 24th Div. Served in 
cavalry and infantry; with B. Hdqrs. Bn. and 
General Hdqrs.; trained at Camp Cody from 
August 20, 1917, to August 27, 1919; trans- 
ferred to Headquarters Troop, 34th Division. 
Left Hoboken September 17, 1918; on S. S. 
Cretic; landed Liverpool September 29, 1918. 
Crossed Channel to Le Havre. To Bordeaux, 
remained there from October 7 to November 
15; to Le Mans until November 25; to Chau- 
mont from December 1 to May 30, 1919; to 
St. Aignan for ten days; to Brest. Sailed 
June 17 on U. S. S. Mobile; landed New York. 
To Camp Mills. Mustered out July 7, 1919. 

HIGHI.EY, EARIi Ii. 

Storm liake 
Born July 28, 1897. Enl. November 23. 
1916. Corp. Batt. B, 63d Artillery. C. A. C. 
Trained at Ft. Norden. Sailed overseas. Served 
a short time in England; seven months in 
France. Active service in air raids. At Ft. 
Tilden in Q. M. C. when this record was com- 
piled for publication. 

HINKELDEY, DICK 
Maple Valley Township 
Born December 23, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Oo. C, 4th Replm. Inf. Trained at 
Camp Gordon four weeks; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed for France on U. S. S. Plattsburg, 
August 29. Trained two weeks at St. George; 
trans, to Verdun sector two weeks; to 79th 
Div. in Co. E, 316th Inf.; to Meuse sector. 
Sailed May 16; landed Philadelphia. To Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 8, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



III 



HISSONG, BOY D. 

AUa 
Born February ii. 1888. Enl. July 1, 1918. 
Pvt. Manual Training- Worker in Educational 
Dept. Medical Corp.s. Trained at U. S. Gen. 
Hosp. No. 26; at Fort Des Moines eight and 
one-half months. Mustered out March 10, 
1919. 

HOARE, THOMAS 

Rembrandt 

Enl. September 20, 1917. Pvt. Co. I, 34th 
Inf. 87th Div. Trained at Camp Dodge two 
months with Co. A. 350th Inf., 88th Div.; to 
Camp Pil^e; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from 
New York .lune 20. 1918. on the Anselin; 
landed Liverpool July 1. To Winchester; to 
Southampton; to Cherbourg. To St. Aignan; 
joined 9th Inf. 2d Div. July 16 at Soissons; 
in attack at Soissons July 18; wounded in 
action aljout :i P. M.. shot through wrist — 
has permanently crippled arm. 

HOCH, EDWIIT A. 

Storm Iiake 
Born April 6, 1895. Enl. July 15. 1918. 
Pvt. Signal Corps, Wireless Section, Co. A, 
219th F. S. Bn. 19th Div. Trained at Sioux 
City. Iowa; Hdqrs. Training Detachment. High 
Scliool Building, for two months; to Camp 
Doage for four months. Mustered out Janu- 
ary 18, 1919. 

HOCH, FORREST D. 

Storm Ziake 
Born July 25, 1896. Enl. May 31, 1918. 
Corp. Co. A, Med. Detach. Trained at Jeffer- 
son Barraclis two months. To Walter Ried Gen. 
Hosp. Mustered out at Camp Dodge after 14 
and one-half months of service, October 17, 
1919. 

KOCK, PETER 

Scott Township 
Born May 1, 1891. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. B. 316th Inf., 79th Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon one month; to Camp Merritt. Sailed 
from New York August 29; landed Brest Sep- 
tember 12. 1918. To St. George in training 
camp two weeks; was with Co. B, 79th Div.; 
in Argonne front three weeks when armistice 
was signed. Sailed from St. Nazaire; landed 
Philadelphia May 31, 1919. To Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out June 8, 1919. 

EOEFI.E, FORREST I.. 

Newell 

Born October 22, 1895. Enl. July 27, 1918. 
Pvt. Balloon Co. No. 20. Trained at Fort 



Omaha; Camp Morrison. Sailed October 21, 
1918; landed Brest. To Bordeaux; to Camp 
De Souge. Sailed for U. S. April 4, 1919. 
Mustered out May 2, 1919. 



HOFFEINS, HARRY JOHN 

Alta 
Born February 19. 1888. Enl. July 20, 1918. 
2d Lieut. 5th Vet. Replm. Unit, Veterinary 
Corps. Trained at Fort Oglethorpe; Camp 
Lee; Camp Merritt. Mustered out January 
18, 1919, at Camp Lee. 



HOFFMAN, CKARI.es METHIAS 
Iiee Township 
Born July 22, 1898. Enl. March 27. 1917. 
Pvt. Co. D, 21st Regt. Trained at Camp Logan 
three weeks; Colexico, California, three 
months; Camp Kearny September, 1917, to 
February, 1919: Vancouver Barracks one 
month. On April 16. 1919, he was at Spokane, 
\\'ashington, and Iiad one year to serve to com- 
plete his term of enlistment in the Regular 
Army. 



HOFFMAN, JOSEPHINE 
Storm Iiake 
Born October 8, 1886. Enl. February 21, 
1918. Nurse in U. S. N. R. Served in U. S. 
Navy Hospital, Mare Island; U. S. Navy Hosp. 
Elysian Park, Los Angeles, California; U. S. 
Navy Hospital San Diego, California; now in 
service in Tuberculosis Hospital in Colorado. 
Will be discharged in summer of 1920. 



HOFFMAN, SAMITEI. I.EE 

Storm Iiake 

Born March 17, 1884. Enl. May 13, 1917. 
Civil Engineer in 109th Regt. 34th Div., Com- 
missioned 1st lieut August 15, 1917; promoted 
to Captain September 9, 1918. Sailed from 
Hoboken September 17, 1918; landed Liver- 
pool September 28. To Chercourt. October 1. 
To Headquarters Second Army Staff at Toul; 
at Toul had charge of construction of rail 
heads American dump, railroads, reconnais- 
.sance entire Verdun to Nancy; back to regt. 
at Nevers November 26. Sailed April 28, 1919; 
landed New Y'ork May 9, 1919. Was trained 
at Ft. Snelling and Ft. Leavenworth; com- 
mended in letter from Commander Second 
Army, Lt.-Gen. R. L. BuUard upon termina- 
tion of service. Mustered out May 23, 1919. 




William N, Huyi 
Storm Lake 




George H. Hull 
Storm Lake 






Jens C. Husted 
Providence Township 




i_"!,vde Ibsen 
Storm Lake 



Ernest i '. Huseman and wife 
Maiile Valley Township 

Mr. Huseman won his bride 
w'hile in English Camp. 




Clarence Di^k Huseman 
Maple Valley Township 



Floyd M. Ingram 
Lee Township 




Lewis Arthur Jackson 
Sioux Rapids 



James Jacobsen 
Elk Township 



Martin Jacobseii 
Elk Township 



John li. Jacobson 
Marathon 




Lyle Merle Jeffers 
Poland Township 



Albert H. Jensen 
Newell 



Anfin Jensen 
Barnes Township 



Carl M. Jensen 
Newell 




Christ J. Jensen 
Nokomis Township 



Clarence M. Jensen 
Newell 



Eddie Jensen 
Alta 



Einar Jensen 
Newell 



114 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA MSTA COUNTY 



HOIiDEBKESS, AARON BRUCE 

Nokomis Township 
Born December 11, 1896. Enl. September 5. 

1918. Pvt. Ist-cl. Base Hosp. No. 105. Trained 
at Camp Dodge for one month; to Fort Ben- 
jamin Harrison two weelss; was trans, with 
Med. Corps at Camp Dodge and left in Base 
Hosp. No. 105. First assigned at Camp Dodge 
to Co. 58, 163d D. B. Sailed on October 28 
from Hobol^en on transport Mongolia: landed 
Brest November 9, 1918. Was at hosp. at 
Herhoun. Sailed from Brest .June 30, 1919, on 
U. S. S. Frederick: landed Manhattan July 10. 

1919. To Camp Mills. Mustered out July 17, 
1919. 

HOI.M, I,ARS B. 

Rembrandt 
Born March 9, 1896. Bnl. September 20, 

1917. Pvt. Co. C, 9th Inf. Trained at Camp 
Dodge two months: Camp Pike seven months: 
Camp Merritt. Sailed from New York June 
20. 1918, on the Anselin: landed Liverpool 
July 1. To Winchester: to Southampton: to 
Cherbourg. To St. Aignan: joined 2d Div. near 
Soissons: in attack at Soissons July 18 and 19: 
to Marbach sector August 9 to 24: to St. Mihiel 
September 12 to 16: to Champagne front for 
ten days: to Meuse-Argonne November 1 to 11: 
to Beaumont to November 17: in Army of 
Occupation at Bendorff, Germany; to outpost 
duty thirty miles on the Rhine; to Brest July 
15, 1919. Sailed on Manostaria; landed New 
York August 20. To Camp Merritt: to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out August 31, 1919. 

ROI.M, SIVERIAN 
Iiiucoln Township 

Born July 13, 1887. Enl. April 9, 1918. 
Mech. 211th Aero Squadron. Trained at Pitts- 
burgh from April 11 to June 11; to Long 
Island. Sailed from Boston July 16; landed 
July 31 at Aramamasth Lacks, England. To 
Rest Camp August 1; August 4 to Camp Calne; 
November 18 to Notyash. Embarked for U. S. 
November 30; landed Boston December 11. 

1918. To Camp Devens; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out December 30, 1918. 

HOI.MBS CI.AREIfCE F. 

Alta 
Born November 29, 1891. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 212th Eng. 12th Div, Trained at 
Camp Forrest; Camp Devens, Mustered out 
February 7, 1919, at Camp Dodge. 

HOI.MES, CI.IFF0BO J. 
Ziee Township 

Born August 30, 1895. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Wagoner, in Engineers' Train, 21 4th Regt.. 



14th Div. Trained at Camp Forrest until 
October, 1918; Camp Custer until February, 
1919. Mustered out at Camp Dodge February 
7, 1919. 

HOI.MBS, EKMIT I.I.OYD 
Alta 

Born October 1, 1894. Enl. November 5. 

1917. Sgt. Hdqrs. Co. and Batt B. 31st Brig. 
57th Artillery Regt. First service with Coast 
Artillery; later Field Artillery. Trained at 
Fort Hancock. Promoted to corp. April 18. 

1918, to sgt. July 19, 1918. Preliminary train- 
ing at Vayres and Libarne, France; Artillery 
Range Camp De Souge. Left for front August 
25; at St. Mihiel: Verdun; to Argonne-Meuse. 
Positions: September 12 to 18, Vignot: Sep- 
tember 21 to 30. Montzeville; October 1 to 7. 
Esnes; October 8 to 22. Cuisy; October 23 to 
November 1, Romagne: November 2 and 3, 
Bcntlifville: November 4 to 11, Beaufort. 
Turned in guns and equipment at Dolevant- 
le-Chateau. Sailed from Brest January 2. 
1919: landed New York January 14. To Ft, 
Hancock, January 15 to 21. Discharged at 
Camp Grant, February 1, 1919. Sgt. Holmes' 
chief duty in France was connected with tele- 
phone communication in battery. 



KOI.MES FORREST G. 

Storm Iiake 
Born in 1895. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. Co. 
12, 3d Bn. 166th D. B., 13th Div. Trained at 
American Lake, Mustered out August 7, 1918. 



HOIiMSBEN, AI.DO 
Nokomis Township 

Born Novembei- 7. 1896. Enl. September 3, 
1918. Pvt. Co. 58, 163d D. B. Trained at 
Camp Dodge: to Camp Cody, with Provost 
Guard Co.; went back from Cody to Camp 
Dodge, Mustered out January 29, 1919. 



HOOD, HARVEY AIiI-EN 

Storm Iiake 
Born October 7. 1893. Enl. September 4, 
1917. Sgt. to Major Hdq. Co. 350th Inf. 88th 
Div. Promoted from pvt. to Corp.. to sgt., 
to bn. sgt., to Major. Trained at Camp Dodge. 
Sailed from New York August 16 on H. M. S. 
Kashmir: landed Liverpool August 28. To 
Wimmal Dawn Camp August 29; crossed Eng- 
lish Channel to Cherbourg, September 1 on 
H. M. S. Viper. Encamped for training at Fie 
Cote d'Or .September 4 to 17; at Eschevans 
September 19 to October 5; in support at St. 
Cosne; to Haute-Alsace sector October 7 to 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



115 



15; in training at La Vallonne October 15 to 
November 18; in concentration camps at Le 
Mans and D' Anvour November IH to Decem- 
ber 23; in training at Menancourt December 25 
to January 16, 1919; at Central Records (Jffice, 
Bourges. January 18 to May 14. Sailed from 
St. Nazaire May 19 on U. S. S. Aeolus; landed 
Newport News May 30, 1919. Mustered out 
June 5, 1919. 

HOPKINS, wrLI. H. 

Storm Ziake 
Born February 8, 1888. Enl. February 25, 
1918. Junior sgt. in Q. M. Branch, Military 
Postal Detail. Trained at Camp Dodge. Pro- 
moted to sgt. Mustered out February 13, 1919. 



ROSTETIiER, CHESTER 

Maple Valley Township 
Born August 10, 1887. Enl. July 28, 1917. 
Ship's cook, Div. 11. Trained: was put on 
draft for foreign service April 28, 1918; pre- 
vious training at Norfolk and Philadelphia. 
Sailed from New York for Scotland where he 
was sent by train to liosite where the Ameri- 
can Fleet was located; was put on Texas, one 
of the most modern and best ships in the 
fleet and sailed on June 27 for Scapa Flow. Scot- 
land; in no large engagement but was in the 
fleet which helped run the blockade on sub- 
marines and was with the fleet at the time the 
German Fleet surrendered. Mustered out April 
28, 1919 

HOVSEHOIiDER, GAU. W. 

Kewell Township 

Born February 24, 1897. Enl. July 10, 1918. 
Fireman in Navy. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. 
until September 4; to Norfolk until Septem- 
ber 10; then ordered aboard U. S. S. George 
Washington; made nine trips to Europe on 
this ship; on the last trip brought King Al- 
bert and Queen Elizabeth from Antwerp. Bel- 
gium. Mustered out October 9. 1919, at G. L. 
N. T. S. 

HUBER, JOHN -WIIiIiIAM 
Trues dale 
Born October 24, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon; Camp Merritt. Sailed from 
New York September 1; landed Brest Septem- 
ber 14. To hosp. for guard duty; to St. 
Georges; to Verdun and sent into open fields 
for two weeks; then assigned to 79th Div. and 
ordered to Verdun; in battle of Verdun Sep- 
tember 26 to November 11; after signing of 
ai-mistice sent to field hosp.; to Dijon four 



months; to Nantes; to Brest. Sailed May 5, 
1919; landed Hoboken May 12. To Camp Mer- 
ritt hosp. for ten days; to Camp Sherman. 
Mustered out May 29, 1919. 



HUGHES, ARTHUR P. 

Storm Iiake 
Born November 28, 1891. Enl. April 9, 1918. 
Wagoner, Battery A, 150th Heavy Field Art., 
42d Div. Trained at Madison, Wisconsin, two 
months; to Camp .lackson one month; to Camp 
Merritt. Sailed from Hoboken on Tydem July 
23; landed at George's Dock, London, August 
8. To detention camp at Ramsey for one 
month; to Camp Hunt at LaConners, France, 
for six weeks. To Sedan; to Argonne front; 
was on this front until armistice was signed. 
To Neuenahr, Germany, with Army of Occupa- 
tion four months; to Brest. .Sailed on Levia- 
than, April 18; landed Hoboken April 25, 1919. 
To Camp Merritt: to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out May 12, 1919. 



HUGHES, -WILBUR P. 
Storm Iiake 

Born August 28, 1895. Enl. July 14. 1917. 
Corp. 109th Amm. Tr., 34th Div. Trained at 
State Fair Grounds. Des Moines, Iowa, two 
months; to Camp Cody September 1; on August 
10, 1918. to Diamond Motor works. Chicaso, for 
ten days; drove trucks to Raritan Arsenal ten 
days; to Camp Dix one month; to New York. 
Sailed from Hoboken on Olympic; October 17; 
landed Southampton October 23. October 23 to 
Cherbourg. To Camp St. Sulpice for seven 
months; to Camp Genicourt near Bordeaux. 
Sailed on TJ. S. S. lowan June 10, 1919; landed 
Philadelphia June 22. To Camp Dix; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 28, 1919. 



HUGHES, DAVID JAMES 
Storm Iiake 

Born July 12, 1899. Enl. July 6, 1917. Corp. 
Co. D, 20th Inf. 10th Div. Trained at Ft. 
Douglas; Camp Funston. Promoted from pvt. 
to pvt. Ist-cl.. to Corp. Mustered out January 
24, 1919. 



HUGHES, EVERETT J.. 

Storm Iiake 

Born June 19, 1895. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. 314th Detach., Q. M. C. Trained at 
Syracuse, N. Y.\ to Newport News. Mustered 
out December 16, 1918. 



ii6 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



HUG-HES, WU-IiIAM N. 
Storm Iiake 

Born April 10, 1896. Enl. March 28, 1918. 
Corp. Batt. A, 60th F. A. Trained at Univer- 
sity of Wisconsin; to Camp Jackson; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out February 1, 1919. 



H.VI.X., GEORGi: H. 
Storm Ziake 

Born June 6, 18!I7. Enl. July 1, 1917. Pvt. 
Hdq. Co. 168th Inf., 42d Div. Trained at Chero- 
kee, Iowa; to State Fair Grounds, Des Moines, 
Iowa; to Camp Mills. Sailed on U. S. S. Grant 
October 18, 1917; returned to port October 28; 
sailed again on U. S. S. Aurania November 14; 
landed Liverpool. After ten days at Le Havre. 
To Remicourt; to Langres; to Baccarat; 
entered line at Luneville sector February 22, 
1918; wounded June 19; to Base Hosp. No. 
23 at Vetell; returned to duty, March, 1918; 
with Army of Occupation on the Rhine; left 
Germany from Brest. Sailed April IS on trans- 
port Leviathan; landed New York May 24. 
To Camp Upton; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out May 16, 1919. 



HVSEMAN, CI-ARENCE DICK 

Maple Valley Township 
Born July 31, 1896. Enl. September 5, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, Med. Dept . Trained at Camp 
Dodge in Co. F, 88th Inf. 19th Div. Mustered 
out October 20, 1919. 



HUSEMAN, ERNEST C. 
Maple Valley Township 
Born September 2, 1890. Enl. February 24, 
1918. Pvt. Co. E, 35nth Inf. 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge two months; to Camp Mills ten 
days. Sailed April 24; landed Liverpool May 
6, 1918. Took sick going across; to Bng. Hosp. 
at Belmont for three weeks; trans, to American 
Red Cross Hospital at Mossyhill about eight 
"weeks; to rest camp Notyash about 8 months. 
Married in Liverpool to Miss Edith Hartley, 
December 2, 1918. Sailed from Liverpool to 
Brest for return to the U. S. March 22, 1919; 
landed New York. To Camp Merritt; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out April 15, 1919. 



HUSEMAN, FRANK 
Maple Valley Township 
Born August 6, 1895. Enl. April 2, 1918. 
Cook, Base Hosp. Detach. Med Corps. Trained 
at Camp Dodge 18 days; to Camp Logan; to 
Camp Dodge; to Camp Logan. Mustered out 
March 19, 1919. 



HITSTED, JENS C. 
Frovidence Township 
Born July 4, 1892. Enl. July 24, 1918. Sgt. 
Co. D. 4th Replm. Regt.; to Co. D, 99th Div. 
Trained at Camp Gordon for three months; to 
Camp Wheeler. Mustered out December 21, 
1918. 

IBSEN, CI.YDE 
Storm Iiake 

Born July 17, 1895. Enl. August 9, 1917. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. F, 21st Engrs. Light Railway, 
8th French Brig. 42. 77, 26, 5, and 2d Divs. 
Trained at Camp Grant. Landed in France 
December 6, 1917, for IS montlis. 17 days i.i 
French service. Only authorized light rail- 
way or narrow guage R. R. Regt. in France; 
the track gauge was 23% in. in width and was 
used to transport ammunition supplies, artil- 
lery, and troops from the standard guage rail- 
head to the trenches; two classes of motive 
power were used — steam 5 to 15 kilos, behind 
the lines, and gas tractors were used im- 
mediately behind the lines; regiment was 
well scattered over the entire French and 
American fighting lines and took part in every 
battle by the French and Americans from 
December 20, 1917, until the armistice was 
signed. Mustered out June 20, 1919. 

INGRAM, FLOYD M. 
Lee Township 

Born January 19, 1897. Enl. August 3, 1918. 
Striker in Aviation Section of Navy, Second, 
Third, and Fifth Regts. Trained at Charles- 
ton August to November 15, 1918; Norfolk 
November 15 to January 15. Mustered out at 
G. L. N. T. S. January 28, 1919. 

INMAN, CLIFFORD FORREST 
Storm Lake 

Born July 1, 1896. Enl. October 28, 1918. 
Master Mechanic in Aviation Section of Navy. 
Trained at G. L. N. T. S. Mustered out 
December 23, 1918. 

JACKSON, LEWIS ARTHUR 

Sioux Rapids 
Born May 19, 1902. Enl. July 9, 1918. Fire- 
man 2d-cl. on U. S. S. Arizona and U. S. S. 
Aeolus. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. and Logan 
Rifle Range. Promoted from seaman 2d-cl. 
to fireman 2d-cl. Sailed from Newport News 
to Cuba; to Trindad; to South America on 
U. S. S. Arizona; to Cuba; to Newport News; 
to Brest; to Smyrna; to Constantinople; to 
Gibraltar; to New York; trans, to Aeolus; two 
trips from New York to Brest and return. 
Mustered out September 25, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VIST A COUNTY 



1 1 



/ 



JACOBSEN-, JAMES 

Elk To'nrnslup 

Born December 111, 18;<2. Enl. August 29, 

1918. Pvt. Co. E, 41st Regt. 10th Div. Trained 

at Camp Funston. Mustered out February 1. 

1919. 



JENSEN, AI.BERT H. 

Newell 

Born November 24, 1SU3. Enl. June 15, 1918. 

Corp. Co. D, 426 M. T. C. Trained at Ames 

and Valparaiso. Promoted from pvt. to corp. 

Mustered out -July 15. 1919. 



JACOBSEN, MARTIN 

Elk Towcsliip 
Born August 8, 1887. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. in 212th and 213th Eng. Trained at Camp 
Forrest three months: to Camp Merritt. Sailed 
October 29 on IJ. S. S. George Washington: 
landed Brest November 9. To Anglers one 
week: to Brest Area; trans, to 503d Co. and 
worked back to St. Nazaire, 3 months. En- 
gaged while in France in building roads. Sailed 
for U. S. on Martha Washington May 7; landed 
Newport News May 19. To Camp Dix: to 
Canip Dodge. Mustered out June 2. 1919. 



JACOBSON, JOHN R. 

Marathon 

Enl. October 11, 1918. Pvt. S. A. T. C. 
Trained at Buena Vista College, Storm Lake, 
Iowa. Mustered out December 13, 1918. 

JAMES, HAROI^D E. 
Providence Township 

Born March 19, 1888. Knl. June 26, 1918. 
Wagoner with Supp. Co. Inf. 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge. Sailed from New York 
August 11: landed Liverpool August 25. To 
Southampton: to Cherbourg, September 1. 
Sent immediately to Alsace-Lorraine front: in 
lines for 11 days; to Legny Woods for two 
months, until after the armistice: with Army 
of Occupation near Coblenz; to Merimcourt. 
Sailed from St. Nazaire May 19 on U. S. S. 
Aeolus; landed Newport News May 30. Serv- 
ice in France and Germany was hauling am- 
munition and food. During stay in England 
was taken sick with pneumonia and "flu" and 
was in hospital six weeks at Seymour. 

JEFFERS, I.YI.E MERI.E 

Poland Township 

Born June 14, 1900. Enl. September 23, 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Iowa State Col- 
lege. Mustered out December 21, 1918. 

JENNINGS, WALTER J. 
Providence Township 

Born July 4, 1NII4. Kiil. I i.ciniluT 14, 1917. 
Mech. Mate Ist-cl., Squadron 2, U. S. Aero- 
nautics Station. Trained at G. L. N. T. S.: 
Pensacola. Fla. Mustered out March 21, 1919. 



JENSEN, ANFIN 
Barnes Township 
Born May 1, 1896. Enl. June 15, 1918. 
Corp. Co. D, M. T. C. Trained at Iowa State 
College eight weeks; to Valparaiso at tempo- 
rary camp for two months: to Detroit for 
convoy work; to Boston, until December 25, 
1918; to New York, stationed at 150th St. do- 
ing trucking until July 2, 1919; to Camp Mer- 
ritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out July 8, 
1919. 



JENSEN, ANTON 
Alta 

Born April 21, 1893. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Casualty Co. Trained at Camp Gordon four 
weeks; to Camp Merritt. Sailed September 1 
from Hoboken; landed Brest September 13, 
At Brest in Casualty Co.; to St. George, Co. L. 
one week: to La Wolobine three months; to 
Clemancy three months; to Le Mans four 
months: to Brest July 24, 1919. Sailed on 
U. S. S. Mongolia August 1; landed Hoboken 
August 9, 1919. To Camp Merritt: to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out August 16, 1919. 



JENSEN, CARI. M. 

Newell 
Born April 1, 1898. Enl. January 11, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, 2nd Bn. 26th Div. C. A. Trained 
at Ft. Cassell . Sailed from Boston on H. M. 
S. Corgegnan; landed Liverpool June 14. To 
Southampton; to Le Havre June 24. To Ft. 
Barelle at Langres until August 15: to Ar- 
gonne-Meuse front for three weeks; to Vitry; 
to Cornille; to Brest. Sailed on S. S. Mangdiv 
March 31; landed Boston April 10, 1919. 
Mustered out April 25. 1919. 



JENSEN, CI.ARENCE M. 
NeweU 

Born April 21. 1896. Enl. December 10, 1917. 
Pvt. Co. D, 81st Aero Squadron. Trained at 
Ft. Logan until February 2, 1918: to Camp 
Sevier until March 6; to school at Brooklyn, 
where lie was taught building and repairing 
of airplanes: April 18 sent to Ft. Sill and re- 
mained there until May 24, 1919; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out May 26, 1919. 




Elmer Jensen 
Newell 



John H. Jensen 

Newell 



Julian H. Jensen 
Providence Township 



Julius Jensen 
Newell 




Lloyd Bryan Jensen 
Alta 



Louis Jensen 
Brooke Township 



Marius Jensen 
Newell 



Nels Jensen 
Newell 




Soren V. Jensen 
Newell 



Walter D. Jensen 
Newell 



Carl G. M. Jeppesen 
Newell 



Eugene M. Jimmerson 
Alta 




James B. Jimiiier-son 
Brooke Township 



Carl A. Julia risen 
Albert City 



Ciiarlev Johansen 
Alta 



An>eit Johnson 
Maple Valley Township 






Alfred Johnson 
Elk Township 



Arthur J. Johnson 
Providence Township 



Arthur S. Johnson 
Poland Township 



Arvid G. Johnson 
Albert City 




Bengt S. Johnson 
Maple Valley Township 



Bertel M. Johnson 
Lee Township 



Carl Johnson 
Elk Township 



Carl A. Johnson 
Newell 



I20 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



JENSEN, EDDEB 
Alta 

Bom December 25. 1892. Enl. February 2 4. 
1918. Pvt. Co. K, 139th Inf. 3oth Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodste in Co. E. 351st Inf. SStli Uiv.: 
Camp Mills Co. K, 139th Inf. 35th Div. Sailed 
from New York April 24, 1918; landed Liver- 
pool Kay 7. To Winchester May 8; to South- 
ampton; to Le Havre May 12. To rest camp 
No. 2; to Eu, May 16; to Melleville; June 26 
to Londoniers; June 8 to Mehonie; June 9 to 
Morgney; to Jarnneil June 12; June 19 to 
Kruth; June 19 entered trenches at Alsace- 
Lorraine; relieved on September 3; to Kiuth; 
September 4 to Clearmont; to Boynn; to 
Veuve-Mesons; to Billet de Brush Woods on re- 
serve for St. Mihiel drive from September 12 
to 16; left St. Mihiel September 17; rested 
September 17 to 24; entered Argonne drive 
^'eptember 25; in drive October 1; relieved by 
1st I>iv. ; to Clearmont; to Louppy Petit Octo- 
ber 10; to Sommendieu; toolt Verdun sector of 
trenches October 24 to November 5; relieved 
by "Wildcat" Div. October 28; to Lemnie;; 
November 7 to Bennoncourt; to Rupt Novem- 
ber 13 to December 7; to Vi?not December 
7 to 9; to Le Mans March 11; to Gorce; to 
BelRian Rifle Range at Le Mans March 20; 
to St. Xazaire April 2; Camp Guthrie April 
3. Sailed from St. Nazaire on LT. S. S. Mat- 
sonia April 13; landed Newport News April 
24. To Camp Dodge. Mustered out May 2, 
1919. 

JENSEN, EINEB 
Newell 
Born December 25. 1894. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Sailed from New York August 
30; landed September 12. To St. George until 
October 1; to Verdun front; in front line 
trenches 9 days; wounded November 3 by 
Machine-gun bullet; to Evac. Hosp. No. 15; 
to Langres. Base Hosp. No. 53; to Base Hosp. 
No. 27; to Base Hosp. No. 8; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed on St. Zellandia December 10; landed 
Newport News December 22. 1918. Has crip- 
pled hand; was also hit by shrapnel in foot. 
Mustered out June 17, 1919. 



JENSEN, EI.MER 
Newell 

Born August 29, 1890. Enl. December 5, 
1917. Coxswain in Navy. Trained at Camp 
Decatur at G. L. N. T. S.; to Camp Perry; to 
U. S. S. Leviathan April 22; May 30 experi- 
enced submarine attack of convoy; made 17 
trips between the United States and France 
carrying troops. Mustered out September 22, 
1919. 



JENSEN, HEI.MER 
Alta 

Born February 27, 1889. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, 605th Regt. 8th Eng. Corps. 
Trained at Camp Gordon. Sailed from Hoboken 
on U. S. S. George Washington September 
30; landed Brest October 13. Left Brest 
October 20 for Chalindrey, Haute-Marne. and 
stayed there until November 26; to Montigny- 
sur-Aube and worked with Engr. Corps; to 
Camp Joffre December 15; to Veuxhalles; to 
Cote d'Or for road work; to Le Mans; to 
Brest. Sailed on Agamemnon June 7; landed 
New York June 15. To Camp Merritt; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 25. 1919. 



JENSEN, JENS Z. 
Newell 
Born December 5, 1889. Enl. June 27, 1918. 
Pvt. Batt. D, 338th F. A. 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; placed in class 1 "Group 'C " 
Mechancs' Class; given citizenship papers on 
July 9, 1918. Released subject to call. 



JENSEN, JOHN H. 
Newell 
Born May 30, 1888. Enl. June 21, 1916. 
Corp.- Hdqrs. Co. 163d Inf. Trained at Camp 
Dodge; July 25, 1917. on liorder until .Jul" 
26, 1918. Re-enl_isted for foreign service April 
15, 1919 — enlistment for three-year peri::d. 



JENSEN, JULIAN H. 

Providence To-wnship 

Born September 1. 1897. Enl. fictober 1. 

1918. Pvt. Inf. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena 

Vista College. Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered 

out December 13. 1918. 



JENSEN, JTTI.ITJS 
Newell 
Born September 27, 1893. Enl. June 25. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. F, 350th Regt., 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; Camp Upton. Sailed from 
Camp Upton August 11; arrived Tillbury. Eng- 
land August 25. To Cherbourg September 2. 
To Semur September 10; to Hericourt; to 
front October 3. in Alsace sector, stayed until 
October 20; to Toul sector November 5 to No- 
vember 29; to Malincourt November 30 to May 
6. 1919; to St. Nazaire. Sailed May 20; landed 
Newport News May 30. To Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out June 5, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA VISTA COUNTY 



121 



JENSSN, I.I.OYI> BRYAN' 

Alta. 
Born November 20, 1896. Enl. December 4, 
1917. Corp. Mobile Field Lab. Med. Corps. 
36th Div. Trained at Ft. Logan with Casual 
Co. Med Dept.; to Ft. Riley Pro v. Co. D. M. 
O. T. C; Fort Leavenworth Central Med. 
Dept. Lab. School; to Camp Bowie. Mobile 
Field Lab.; to Camp Mills. Sailed from Ho- 
bolien on U. S. S. Lenape July 8; landed Brest 
July 22. To Bar-sur-Aube: to Champagne front 
September 25; to Meuse-Argonne; to Cham- 
pagne offensive to Verdun sacto." Nov. 1 ; to 
Tonnerrery-Yonne; to Le Mans; to Brest. Sailed 
on boat Von Stueben June 1; landed Hoboken 
June 8, 1919. To Camp Dodge Mills to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 16, 1919. 



JSNSEN, I.OUIE 
Brooke To'wuship 
Born December 9. 1895. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. L, 163d Replm. Regt. 41st Div. 
Trained at Camp Gordon one month; to Camp 
Merritt August 24. Sailed on U. S. S. Platts- 
burg August 29 as a member of Co. D, 4th 
Re;)lm. Regt.; landed Brest September 12. 
To St. Georges for five months; at St. Georges 
trans, to Co. L 163d Replm. Regt.. later to Hdq. 
Classification Camp at St. Algnan and was at 
this camp until July 5, 1919; to Brest. Sailed 
for U. S. S. on S. S. Agamemnon, July 13; 
landed Hoboken July 22. To Camp Merritt; in 
Base Hosp. at Camp Merritt until August 6; 
to Ft. Sheridan Gen. Hosp.; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out August 13, 1919. 

JENSEN, MARIITS 
Ne'well 
Born September 6, 1887. Enl. September 3, 

1917. Pvt. Co. H, Inf. Trained at Camp Dodge; 
Camp Cody. Mustered out January 1, 1918. 

JENSEN, NEI.S 
Newell 

Born February 26. 1897. Enl. September 6. 

1918. Pvt. Hdq. Co. 87th Inf. 19th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge, training in handling one-pound 
guns. Mustered out January 26, 1919. 

JENSEN, SOREN V. 
Newell 

Born September. TSSS. Enl. September 19, 
1917. Pvt. Ist-cl. Hdq. Co. 347th Regt. 87th 
Div. Trained at Camp Pike. Sailed from New 
York September 3 on S. S. City of Calcutta; 
landed Manchester September 27. To South- 
ampton; to Le Havre September 30. To S. O. S. 



Camp at Gievres; on detached service engaged 
in construction work. Sailed from Brest on 
Mauretania Dec. 24; landed New York Decem- 
ber 30, 1918. Mustered out January 16, 1919. 

JENSEN, ■WAITER D. 

Newell 
Born February 22, 1893. Enl. February 24, 

1918. Musician Ist-cl. Co. D, 42d Regt. Eng. 
Trained at Washington. D. C at American 
University. Sailed from Hoboken May 10; 
landed Brest. To Bazoiles-sur-Meuse May 
30 to .July 15; in American lumber camp: to 
Ronnes; built sawmill, also railroad mainten- 
ance; to Gironcourt on road building until 
October 1, 1918; to St. Maurice: built sawmills 
till November 21; to Romagne; to Ponteaux 
January 5, 1919; transferred to Batt. Band as 
trombonist, traveled with regt. till April 15, 
1919; to Bordeaux. Sailed May 22; arrived 
Hoboken June 5, 1919. Mustered out June 10, 

1919. Promoted to cook, to musician Ist-cl. 



JEFFERSEN, CARI. G. M. 

NeT^ell 

Born in 1882. Enl. July, 1917. Sgt. Co. A. 

Trained at Fort Logan; to San Francisco: to 

Camp P^'unston. Promotetl from iivt. to sgt. 

JESSEN, CHRIST J. 
Nokomls Township 
Born February 2, 1889. Enl. June 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 350th Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge six weeks; to Camp LTpton. Sailed 
August 11 on Delta; landed London August 25. 
Across part of England; in camp three days; 
to Southampton; crossed Char.nel to Cher- 
bourg. To Havicourt two weeks; to Alsace 
front 3 weeks; to Toul front when armistice 
was signed: to Gondrecourt; 5 months; to St. 
Nazaire. Sailed May 19 on German boat 
Aolas; landed Newport News May 30. To 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 5, 1919. 

JIMMERSON, EUGENE M. 
Alta 
Born October 31, 1892. Enl. July 8. 1918. 
Pvt. 192d Co. Marine Corps. Trained at Mare 
Island for ten weeks; to Bremerton, Washing- 
ton, September 26 to March 26, 1919. Mustered 
out March 26, 1919. 

JIMMEKSON, JAMES B. 
Brooke Township 

Born July 22, 1881. Enl. April 30, 1917. 
Pvt. Co. F, 3d Regt. I. N. G. Trained at tempo- 
rary camp at Villisca. Iowa, until July 9. 1917. 
Discharged on account of physical disability. 




Carl Emil Johnson 
Albert City 



Carl Francis Johnson 
Albert City 



Carl O. Johnson 
Fairfield Towiishii» 



Conrad J. Johnson 
Alta 




Edwin G. Johnson 
Albert City 



Eftie Johnson 
Alta 



Klnier B. Johnson 
Fairfield Township 



Kmil H. Johnson 
I\)land Township 




Emil O. Johnson 
Albert City 



Ernest L. Johnson 
Fairfield Township 



Fay G. Johnson 
Linn Grove 



Frank Preston Johnson 
Alta 




'lust Johnson 
Washington Townsliip 



Harry P. Johnson 
Newell 



Herbert Arthur Johnson 
Albert City 



Herman Johnson 
Sioux Rapids 





Hikier Julius John.son 
Fairfield Township 



Hjalmer Johnson 
Albert City 



Hubert K. Johnsun 
Albert City 



.Inlin .)Mhiis..n, 
Alta 




Leon Julius Johnson 
Linn Grove 



Mahlon H. Johnson 
Storm Lake 



Nels E. Johnson 
Elk Township 



Oscar Bernhard Johnson 
Poland Township 



124 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA MSTA COUNTY 



JOHANSEN, CARIi A. 



Albert City 
Born November 10, 1SS6. Enl. September 6, 
1918. Pvt. Ist-cl. Base Hosp. No. 105. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; Ft. Benjamin Harrison; Camp 
Merritt. Sailed from New York on Wiliiimen 
October 28; landed Brest November 9. To 
Kerhown Hosp. Center until June 25; to Pon- 
tenage. Sailed June 30 on U. S. S. Frederick; 
landed Hoboken July 11. To Camp Mills. 
Mustered out July 17, 1919. 



JOHANSEN, CHARIEY 

Alta 
Born July 28, 1896. Enl. September 6, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. F, 58th Inf. 19th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out April 15, 1919. 



JOHNSON, AI.BERT 
Maple Valley Township 

Born Oetolier 12, 1895. Enl. May 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 352d Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge eight weeks. Sailed on cattle 
boat. After arrival in France was put in 
several replm. divs.; was in Lorraine sector 
about six weeks; put in a casual company. 
Sailed for U. S. April 1; landed from Maure- 
tania April 7. Mustered out April 22, 1919. 



JOHNSON, AirBED 

Elk Township 
Born May 7, 1891. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. C, 4th Replm Inf. Trained at Camp Gordon 
four months. Mustered out December 5, 1918. 



JOHNSON, ANTON 
Nokomls Township 
Born June 27, 1891. Enl. June 17, 1917. 
Sgt. Troop A, 4th Cavalry. Trained at Ft. 
Logan; Angel Island; Ft. Castner; Ft. Ring- 
gold. Promoted to pvt. Ist-cl., to Corp.. to 
sgt. In Hawaiian Territory as member of 
Regular Army for fifteen months, stationed at 
Ft. Castner at Honolulu. Hawaii. Mustered 
out June 2, 1919, at Ft. Ringgold. 



JOHNSON, ARTKtTB J. 

Providence Township 
Born December 8, 1896. Enl. May 27. 1917. 
Pvt. Co. A, 13th Regt. Eng. Trained at Munici- 
pal Pier. Sailed from New York July 22, on R. 



M. S. St. Louis; landed Liverpool August 1. 
To Borden Camp; paraded in London August 15 
witli first U. S. troops in London; to Le Havre 
August 17. To Chalons-sur-Marne for two 
weelvs; to Dieury-sur-Aire until April, 1919; 
to Marseilles. Sailed on U. S. S. Belvidere; 
landed New York April 28. To Camp Merritt; 
to Chicago for parade; to Camp Grant. 
Mustered out May 12, 1919. 



JOHNSON, ARTHUR S. 

Poland Township 
Born December 31, 1894, Enl, July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. K, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon from July 24 to August 4. 
Sailed from New York August 31 on U. S. S. 
Plattsburg; landed Brest September 12. 1918. 
To St. George for three weeks; to Verdun Octo- 
ber 1 for one month; to front November 5; 
did not get into action; on front three weeks 
after armistice was signed; to hosp. at Long 
November 27, remained until January 5; to 
Nantes January 7 to February 25. Sailed 
from St. Nazaire April 5; landed Charle=iton. 
To Camp Jackson; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out April 29, 1919. 



JOHNSON, ARVID G. 

Albert City 
Born March 11, 1890. Enl. February 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cI. Co. A, 130th Inf. 33d Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; Camp Logan. Left New 
York on U S. Agamemnon; landed Brest May 
26. To Oisemont; to Visnes; Inchville; to 
Ailly-le-Haute; to Clocker front lines July 18 
near Amiens; to Querrin Woods; at fronts at 
Meuse-Argonne, Somme, Amiens. Albert. Ver- 
dun and in Troyon sector; to Corbie, Albert, 
Vignecourt, Ligney, Bethslainville. Bailey- 
court, Chateaucourt, Donnaveaux Woods, Con- 
sovoye, Fresnes, Rangiers; to OberbilHg, Ger- 
many; to Gilsdorff, Luxemburg. Sailed from 
Brest on U. S. S. Siboney May 11, 1919; landed 
New York May 20, 1919. To Camp Mills; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out May 29, 1919. 



JOHNSON, BENGT S. 

Maple Valley Township 
Born June 16, 1887. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, 148th Inf. 37th Div. Trained at 
Camp Grant, Co. L, 344th Inf. 86th Div.; sta- 
tioned at Camp Mills from September 1 to 9. 
Sailed September 10, 1918, on British ship 
Megantic. In Ypres-Lys offensive October 
31 to November 4; again in offensive at 
Ypres-Lys November 9 to 11. Arrived in U. 
S. March 30. 1919, on the U. S. S. Saint Louis. 
Mustered out April 14, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



12: 



JOHNSON, BEBTi:!! M. 
I^ee Township 

Born Februarj' 20. lS:t">. Knl. December 1. 
1917. Pvt. Ist-cl. 667th Aero Squadron. 
Trained at Kelly Field; Hazelhurst Field. 
Sailed from Hoboken on U. S. S. Antigone 
March 24; landed St. Nazaire April 13. A.s- 
signed to duty in Air Service Production Cen- 
ter No. 2, Supply Depot No. 3 near Romorantin, 
Loire-et-CIier, for duration of acti\ itit-s. Sailed 
from Brest on Leviathan June 6; landed Ho- 
boken June 12. Mustered out June 23, 1919. 



JOHNSON, CARI. 

£lk Tot^nship 
Born August 5, 1892. Enl. May 25. 1918. 
Pvt. 27th Aero Squadron. Trained at Van- 
couver Barracks: spent first ten days at Camp 
Lewis then trans, to Vancouver Barracks for 
eight months; to Camp Dodge to be mustered 
out. Mustered out February 28, 1919. 



JOHNSON, CARI, A. 

Ne'well 
Born August 25, 1887. Enl. March 6, 1918. 
Cliauffeur. Aerial Photograpli Section NX). 44. 
Trained at Cornell Univ.; Wilbur Wright 
Field; Barron Field. Promoted to chauffeur. 
Mustered out March 27, 1919. 



JOHNSON, CARI. EMII. 
Albert City 
Born February 19, 1887. Enl. February 24, 
1918. Pvt. .Co. A, 103d Eng. 28th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge with 351st Inf. Co. E, 23d 
Div.; Camp Grant with Co. B, 32d Eng.; to 
Washington Barracks May 24 in 1st Replm. 
Engrs. ; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from New 
York September 1 on Belique; landed Liver- 
pool. To Winchester; to Southampton; to 
Cherbourg. To Anglers in 116th Engrs.; to 
Vilassee with 103d Engrs.; to front October 
16; at Thiaucourt until October 28; to Vig- 
mulles until January 6; to Wrifte; to Le Mans; 
to St. Nazaire. Sailed April 20 on Finland; 
landed New York May 1. To Camp Dix May 
15; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out May 19, 
1919. 

JOHNSON, CARI. FRANCIS 

Albert City 
Born October 21, 1895. Enl. June 8, 1918. 
Sgt. Hdq. Co. 2d Inf. 10th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; trans, to Demobilization Group 
and promoted to sgt.; had charge of the 
Board of Review where men in service take 
their final physical examinations at the Medi- 



cal Examining Board. Mustered out Novem- 
ber 25, 1919. 

JOHNSON, CARI. O. 

Fairfield Township 
Born December 3, 1886. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon with Co. I, 163d Inf. Sailed 
from New York August 29 on U. S. S. Platts- 
burg; landed Brest September 13. Arrived 
at the front October 26, participated in battle 
of Meuse November 4-5. Sailed f lom St. Nazaire 
with casual detachment April 8; landed New- 
port News April 29. Mustered out May 14, 
1919. 

JOHNSON, CONRAD J. 

Alta 

Born October 26, 1885. Enl. September 20, 

1917. Corp. in 347th Regt. 87th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge in Co. A, 350th Regt. 88th 
Div.; to Camp Pike for nine months with 
Hdqrs. Co.; later trans, to 347th Regt. 87th 
Div.; at Camp Dix. Sailed from Philadelphia 
July 24, 1918. on City of Calcutta; landed Man- 
chester, England. To Southampton; to Le 
Havre; to Gievres; to Chaumont; to Chateau- 
Thierry front when armistice was signed; 
moved back to Brest. Sailed on Mauretania 
December 24; landed Hoboken. To Camp Mer- 
ritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out January 
17. 1919. 

JOHNSON, EDWIN G. 
Albert City 
Born September 24, 1890. Enl. August 16, 

1918. Fireman 2d-cl. on battleship Massachu- 
setts. Trained at G. L. N. T. S.; to Hampton 
Roads; to sea on the battleship Massachusetts 
for patrol work nine weeks; to Hampton 
Roads, served as master-at-arms while there; 
to G. L. N. T. S. Mustered out March 22, 
1919. 

JOHNSON, EmE (Nurse) 

Alta 
Born March 1, 1889. Enl. May 14, 1918. 
Nurse. Was sent as a trained nurse in 
the U. S. A. N. C. to Ft. Logan from May 
14 to September 8; September 11 reported to 
Mobilization Station at New York. Sailed 
from Hoboken on Leviathan September 28; 
landed Brest October 8. To Ba.se Hosp. No. 
65, one week on temporary duty; to Base 
Hosp. No. 101, October 15, was at this hosp. 
until June 20, 1919. Sailed from St. Nazaire 
on Pocahontas June 22; landed Newport News 
July 2, 1919. To Camp Stewart one week. 
Mustered out July 26, 1919. 



126 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



JOHNSON, EltMEB B. 

Fairfield Township 
Born March 3U, 18',i5. Knl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon: to Camp Merritt November 1; 
ready for embarkation. To Camp Gordon; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out January 9, 1919. 

JOHNSON, EMU. H. 

Poland Township 
Born March 12, 1890. Enl. April 9, 1918. 
Pvt. Aviation Section of Army, 194th Aero 
Squadron. Trained at Wisconsin State Univ. 
from April 9 to June 12; to Wilbur Wright 
Field; to Ellington Field August 5 to April 
24. Mustered out April 24, 1919. 

JOHNSON, staxx. o. 

Albert City- 
Born March 20. 1895. Enl. July 29. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. F, 212th Engrs. 12th Dlv. Trained 
at Camp Gordon August 1 to 29; Camp Devens 
to January 31, 1919: to Cami) Dodge. Mustered 
out February 8, 1919. 

JOHNSON, ERNEST I.. 
Pairfield Township 
Born February 8. 18;ii;. ICnl. August 20. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. 5, 2d training Bn. Inf., 157th D. B. 
Trained at Camp Gordon from August 24 to 
September 12: Camp McClellan where he was 
trans, to the Q. M. C. on October 26; while at 
Camp Gordon chief organization was Co. 21. 
6th Training- Bn. 167th D. B. Mustered out 
April 2, 1919. 

JOHNSON, FAY a. 

Jtiaa Grove 

Born January .S, 1X97. EtiI. August 15. 191.S. 
Pvt. Batt. B, 20th Div. Motorized Artillery. 
Trained at Iowa State College; to Camp Jack- 
son, was assigned to 24th Overseas Batt.; after 
armistice was transferred to 24th Overseas 
Battery. Mustered out February 1, 1919. 



JOHNSON, GTJST A. D. 

Albert City 
Born August 2, 1888. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. L, 163d Inf. 41st Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon; Camp Merritt. Sailed August 
27: landed Brest September 12. To St. Georges; 
taken sick with pneumonia September 23 and 
sent to Base Hosp No. 26: to American Hosp. 
Pone-la-Voy: re-assigned to regt. October 23. 
Sailed from Brest January 26; landed Camp 
Dix February 16. To Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out March 4, 1919. 



JOHNSON, HARRY P. 
Newell 

Born August 11, 1896. Enl. September 5, 
1918. Pvt. 2d Co. Coast Artillery. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; Ft. Barrancas. Mustered out 
April 4. 1919. 



JOHNSON, HERBERT ARTHUR 

Albert City 

Born August 16, 1891. PInl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 212th Engrs. 12th Div. Trained 
at Camp Devens. Mustered out December 28, 

1918.' 

JOHNSON, HERMAN 
SlouK Rapids 

Born July 12, 1891. Enl. June 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Hdq. Co. 350th Regt. 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge from June 25 to August 4. 
Sailed from New York on S. S. Delta August 
11; landed London August 25. Crossed Chan- 
nel to Cherbourg. August 29. To Semur Sep- 
tember 1 to 19; to Chagey October 4; to cen- 
ter sector Alsace-Lorraine-Haute, November 7; 
in offensive when armistice was signed: to 
Gondrecourt area until May 7; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed on U. S. S. Aeolus May 19; landed 
Newport News May 30. To Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out June 5, 1919. 



JOHNSON, FRANK PRESTON 

Alta 
Born July 21, 1887. Enl. July 25. 1918. Sgt. 
4th Replm. Inf. Regt. Trained at Camp 
Gordon. Promoted to Corp.. to sgt. Mustered 
out November 29. 1918. 

JOHNSON, GUST 

Washing-ton Township 
Born January 2. 1895. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Inf., later trans, to 
Q. M. C. Trained at Camp Gordon. Mustered 
out March 23, 1919. 



JOHNSON, HIZ.DER JUI.IUS 

Fairfield Township 

Born December 26, lS:i2. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Camp Merritt. Sailed from New 
York on U. S. S. Plattsburg August 30; landed 
Brest September 12. To St. Georges; to Ver- 
dun: to Genicourt; joined 79th Div. here on 
October 25; on October 26 helped capture 
Hill 378; relieved on November 4; November 
7 back of lines; November 10 wounded in ac- 
tion by machine-gun bullet in hip and back; 
to First-Aid Station; to Evac. Hosp.; to Base 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



1-^7 



Hosp. No. 47: to St. Aignan for two weeks; 
to Platfoot farm; to St. Aignan; to Brest. 
Sailed March 3 on U. S. S. Mt. Vernon; landed 
March 11. at New York. To Camp Merritt; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out March 21, 1919. 



JOHNSON, JOHN M. 

Albert City 

Born June 4. isa:i. lOnl. August 20. 1918. 
Pvt. Inf. 163d D. B. Trained at Camp Gordon. 
Mustered out August 26, 1918. 



JOHNSON, HJAXMER 

Albert City 
Born February 22, 1887. Enl. August 20, 
1918. Pvt 22d Co. 2d Training Bn. 157 D. B. 
Trained at Camp Gordon until September 12; t3 
Camp McClellan, trans. October 26 to the 
Q. M. C. Mustered out April 2. 1919. 



JOHNSON, IiEON JUI.IUS 
I^inn G-rove 

Born March 21, 1894. Enl. June 17, 1918. 
Served on U. S. .S. Harding, Destroyer No. 91, 
with duties of 1st Lieut. Promoted from sea- 
man 3d-cl. Trained at Puget Sound Navy 
Yard; Municipal Pier; and Pelham Bay Naval 
Training Station. 



JOHNSON, HUBERT E. 

Albert City 

Born May 9, 1896. Enl. April 27, 1918. 

Wagoner. Field Ho.sp, No. 41, 1st Army Corps. 
Trained at Camp Dodge; Fort Riley; to Camp 
Mills. Sailed July 9 on Agamemnon; landed 
Brest July 18. To St. Nazaire; to Chateau- 
Thierry sector for two weeks; to St. Mihiel 
drive September 12; to Meuse-Argonne at 
Verennes when armistice was signed; to Brest. 
Sailed April 10; landed Hoboken April 21. To 
Camp Mills; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
May 2, 1919. 



JOHNSON, JOEI. P. 

Marathon 
Born May 25, 1887. Enl. February 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. E. 313th Engrs., 88th Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge until August 6. Sailed 
from New York on British transport Plassy 
August 16; landed Liverpool August 28. 
Crossed Channel to Le Havre August 31. 
Moved to Villers and built target range; 
September 16 to Wilfersdorft; hiked on to 
Denn.v. in Toul sector; after armistice company 
moved to Xorroy; to Eaville November 18; to 
Bayonville January 6 until May 12. 1919. Sailed 
from St. Nazaire on Madawska May 25; landed 
New York June 5. To Camp Mills until June 
11; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 16, 
1919. 



JOHNSON, JOHN Jr. 

Alta 
Born January 9. 1894. Enl. August 31. 1917. 
Horseshoer. Wagon Co. (Rocky Mountain 
Regiment) 40th Div. Trained at Camp Bald- 
win, assigned to Cavalry; to Camp Kearny. 
Q. M. C. at Camp Kearny one year and five 
months. Promoted to Corp., to sergt. Mustered 
out April 1, 1919. 



JOHNSON, MAHI.ON, H. 

Storm Xiake 
Born July 29. 1892. Enl. February 26. 191S. 
Corp. Co. C, Hdq. Bn. Gen. Hdq. A. E. F. 
Trained at Camp Dodge; Camp Sevier. Sailed 
May 11 on H. M. S. Haverford; landed Liver- 
pool May 27, 1918. To Southampton; to Le 
Havre; to Calais; to Ypres: trans, from 30tli 
Div.; to Langres at Army Candidate School 
two months; to Gen. Hdq. Station eight 
months; to Brest. Sailed on U. S. S. Von 
Steuben June 22; landed New TTork June 30. 
To Camp Mills. Mustered out July 9, 1919. 

JOHNSON, NEI.S E. 
Elk Township 
Born October 10, 1894. Enl. July 24. 191S. 
Sgt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained; Camp 
Gordon one month, attended Non-commissioned 
Officers' School. Promoted to sgt.; to Camp 
Shelby two months; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out December 29, 1918. 

JOHNSON, OSCAR BERNHARE 
Poland Township 

Born June 4, 1887. Enl. September 4. 1918. 
Farrier. Verterinary Corps. Trained at Camp 
Dodge; to Ft. Riley. Mustered out January 
13. 1919. 

JOHNSON, OSCAR R. 

Albert City 

Born February 28, 1897. Enl. August 5, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 88th Inf. 19th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out January 27, 1919. 

JOHNSON, RUBEN H. 
Fairfield Tcwnship 

Born December 15, 1896. Enl. September 5, 
1918. Pvt. in D. B. Trained at Camp Dodge; to 
Camp Devens; to New Hami>shire in spruce 
fields for two weeks. Mustered out December 
24, 1918. 




Ruben H. Johnson 
Fairfield Township 



Torval A. Jolinson 
Elk Township 



Victor J. Johnson 
Lincoln Township 



Victor <)scar Johnson 
Albert City 




Walter Emil Johnson 
Alta 



Anton Jonas 
Storm Lake 



Charles Jones 
Elk Township 



Forrest K. Jones 
Storm Lake 




Rayniuiid Allison Jones 
Storm Lake 



Valentine S. Jones Christian Skytte Jorgensen 

Washington Township Newell 



Gust A. Josefson 
Lincoln Township 




Janie.s Alfred M. Kair 
Newell Township 



Aniie A. Kelso 
Newell 



Thumus F. Kennedy 
Washington Township 



Willi:im J. Keinu'iiv 
Washington Township 




Robert Kesler 
Storm Lake 



Anthony Kestei 
Hayes Township 



George C, Kidman 
Lee Township 



Thomas Kielty 
Storm Lake 




Ejvind Kiilsholm 
Storm Lake 



Viggo Kiilsholm 
Alta 



Elmer Chester Kindwall 
Alta 



James J. Kinnerup 
Newell 



I30 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



JCHNSON, SrEGrBES JOHN 

Sioux Rapids 

Born January 14, lliOU. Enl . October 11, 
191S. Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena 
Vista College, Storm Lake, Iowa Mustered 
out December 13, 1918. 



JOHNSOIT, TOBVAL A. 
Elk Township 

Born September 22, 1892. Enl. June 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 350th Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge five weeks; to Camp Upton. Sailed 
from Hoboken August 11 on Delta; landed 
London August 25. To Camp Rumsey; to 
Southamiiton; across Channel to Cherbourg. 
To Semur; to Havicourt; to Alsace sector 11 
days; to place near Toul sector until armistice 
was signed; to Gondrecourt December 1 to 
May 1; to Le Mans one week; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed May 19; landed Newport News May 30. 
To Camp Alexander; to Camj) Dodge. Mustered 
out June 4, 1919. 



JOKNSON, VICTOB J. 
Iiincoln Township 

Born March 13, 189(5. lOnl. July 24, 1918 
Pvt. Co. E, nth Inf. 5th Division. 



JOHNSOir, VTAIiTEB EMU^ 

Alta 
Born September 30, 1,896. Enl. May 3, 1917. 
Carpenter's Mate Ist-cl. on U. S. S. George 
Washington. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. ; to 
recruiting office at Detroit, Michigan, in Yeo- 
manry Dept.; sailed on L''. S. S. Manchuria 
from New York April 30, 1918; landed Brest 
June 14. Made 14 round trips in convoy serv- 
ice on Manchuria; from New Y'ork to St. Na- 
zaire; other trips from New Y'ork to Brest; 
returned from last trip to Calais with King 
and Queen of Belgium on board to New Y'ork. 
Service in navy expires August 25, 1920. 



JONAS, AKTON 
Storm Ijake 

Born June 12, 1893, at Chatebor, Bohemia; 
came to the U. S. August 15, 1912. Enl. as 
pvt. in Co. M, 31st Inf.; from April, 1917. to 
August. 1918. the 31st Rcgt. was stationed 
in Philippine Islands at Camps Eldridge and 
McGratli. and Forts Mills and Wm. McKinley; 
engaged in garrison work and field training; 
August 31, 1918, the regt. sailed from Manila 
to Vladivostok, and has since been stationed 
there guarding mines and railroads; on April 
30. 1919. the War Department reported Co. M 
to be at Souchan, Siberia, with Company H — 
address of all units of 31st Regt. is Vladivos- 
tok, Siberia. 



JOHNSON, VICTOB OSCAB 

Albert City 

Born May 19, 1887. Enl. July 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. D, 31Gth Inf. 79th Div. Trained 
at Camp Gordon in Co. D, 4th Replm. Inf.; to 
Camp Merritt August 25; to Hoboken August 
29. Sailed from Hoboken August 30 on U. S. 
S. Plattsburg; landed Brest September 12. To 
rest camp near Brest six days; on guard duty 
Officers' Casual Camp in Brest three days; 
traveled in box cars to St. Georges, trained 
there three weelis; took three-day journey to 
Verdun, liiked twenty miles to rest camp, re- 
mained here ten days; October 25 at Genicourt. 
there given permanent assignment; left Geni- 
court October 26; arrived Verdun October 27; 
left Verdun October 28 for front to relieve the 
26th and 29th Divs. east of the Meuse river; 
this sector — shaped like a horseshoe held until 
November 3; — ordered to straigliten out flanlt; 
holding lines when armistice was signed; bil- 
leted in former German prison camp November 
14 to December 27; to Rignacourt 1 month; to 
Deuxnous; March 28 to Fourth Training Area 
near Chaumont; to St. Georges; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed May 16 on U. S. S. Texan; landed Phila- 
delphia May 29. To Camp Dix; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 8, 1919. 



JONES, CECn. 

Marathon 
Born February 28, 1892. Enl. May 28, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, 127th Inf. 32d Div. Trained at 
Camp Lewis; Camp Kearny. . Fought in Ar- 
gonne sector in France. Mustered out Ajiril 
27. 1919 at Fort D. A. Russell. 



JONES, CHABI.es 
Elk Township 

Born July 9. 1890. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. D, 163d Inf. 41st Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon in Co. C, 4th Replm. Regt.; to Camp 
Merritt. Sailed from Hoboken August 30 on 
U. S. S. Plattsburg: landed Brest September 
12. To camp near old fort of Napoleon one 
week; to St. Georges one week; was trans, there 
to Co. L, 163d Inf. 41st Div.; to La Valbonne; 
to Funa from September 29 to December 16; 
trans, to Inf. Cannondots School Bn. from 
September 29 to April 10, 1919; spent part 
of time at Le Mans; moved towards Brest. 
Sailed April 10, on Charleston; landed New 
Y'ork April 21, 1919. To Camp Merritt one 
week; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out May 1, 
1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA \'ISTA COUNTY 



131 



JONES, FORREST K. 
Storm Iiake 

Born February 28, 18;H. Enl. August 27, 
1917. Sergt. Co. M, 350th Regt. 88th Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge. In service 22 
months, nine of which were spent in France. 
Was in Haute-Alsace sector, under fire four 
weeks; six days in front line trenches; three 
weelis in reserve trenches. Qualified as sharp- 
shooter. Mustered out June 6. 1919, at Camp 
Dodge. 

JONES, RAYMOND AI.I.ISON 
Storm Ijake 

Born December 11, 188-1. Enl. August 22, 
1917. Cadet, 2d Co. 13th Training Regt. 
Trained at Ft. Snelling. Mustered out Novem- 
ber 11, 1917. 

JONES, VALENTINE S. 
■Washingrton Township 
Born June 24, 1888. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. M, 31Gth Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon four weeks. Sailed from New 
York on U. S. S. Plattsburg August 30, with 
24th Automatic Replm.; landed Brest Septem- 
ber 12. To St. Georges September 20; to 
Verdun October 1; to Issencourt about ten 
days; to Genicourt where he joined the 79th 
Div. on front lines relieving the 26th Div. 
on October 28; to Base Hosp. No. 44 on ac- 
count of "flu": rejoined regt. at Heippes Jan- 
uary 16; to Chambroncourt; to Tiffauges; tn 
St. Nazaire. Sailed for U. S. May 11; landed 
New York May 29. Mustered out June 8, 1919. 

JORGENSEN, CHRISTIAN SKYTTE 

Newell 
Born March 7, 1888. Enl. September 20, 

1917. Pvt Co. G, 163d Inf. 41st Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge until November 20, with Co. 
A, 350th Inf.; to Camp Pike, Co. I, 347th Inf. 
87th Div.; to Camp Merritt. Sailed June 20, 

1918. member of 5th Casual Replm. Co.; landed 
Liverpool July 1, 1918. To Winchester two 
days; to Southampton; crossed Channel July 
4 to Cherbourg. To St. Aignan; joined the 
ll)3d Inf. Co. G; left July 14; Joined the 2d 
Div. July 16; to Soissons July 18 to 20; St. 
Mihiel September 12 to 16; Mont Blanc Ridge; 
Changpre sector, October 3 to 12; Meuse-Av- 
gonne; severely wounded November 4; oper- 
ated on in Evac. Hosp. No. 15; to Hosp. Mobile 
8; to Base Hosp. No. 86; to Mesves Center; 
Base Hosp. No. 69 February 25; Hosp. No. 
35 Kerhoun Center Brest. Sailed April 7; 
landed New Y'ork April 17, 1919. Taken to 
the U. S. Debarkation Hosp. No. 3; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out May 2, 1919, with 2r, 
per cent disability. 



JOSEFSON, GUST A. 
Iiincoln To'wuship 

Born January 23. 18;i2. Enl. February 24, 
1918. Pvt. Co. B, 12th Eng. 2d Army. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; Camp Grant; to Washington 
Barracks; to Camp Merritt. Sailed August 29 
on Bellank; landed Liverpool September 13. 
To Winchester; to Southampton; to Cherbourg 
To Angers; to Manillatown; to Gosgrove. oper- 
ating a railroad. Sailed from Bordeaux on 
Camp May; landed New York April 27. To 
Camp Upton; to Camp Funston. Mustered out 
May 17, 1919. 

JUST, vrri.i.iAM 

Coon To'wuship 
Born July 3, 1893. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Inf. Trained at 
Cainp Gordon. Discharged by reason of physi- 
cal disability. Mustered out July 31, 1918. 



KAIR, JAMES AXFRED 
Newell Township 
Born June 24, 1888. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. K, 316th Regt. 79th Div. Trained 
at Camp Gordon with Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. 
Sailed from New York August 31 on U. S. S. 
Plattsburg; landed Brest September 12. To 
St. Georges; to Heippes; to front at Grand- 
Montagne October 28; over the top November 
3 and 4; to Teville November 11; December 
11 in hosp. near Verdun; to Evac. Hosp. No 
15 with "flu" from December 11 to January 
12; to Rambruzin until March 26; to Cham- 
brancourt; to Forfou; to St. Nazaire. Sailed 
from St. Nazaire on U. S. S. Kronland May 
18; landed New York May 30. To Camp Dlx; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 8, liilli. 



e:eith, adna john 

storm Iialce 

Born August 14, 18815. Enl. May 3, 1918. 
Machinist's mate in 11th Regt. of Navy at 
G. L. N. T. S. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. Pro- 
moted from seaman 2d-cl to machinist's mate. 
Mustered out January 24, 1919. 



KEI.SO, ARNIE A. 

Newell 
Born March 5. 1886. Enl. April 19, 1917. Sgt. 
Co. E. 23, 50, 90 and 20th Divs. Trained at 
Camp Gordon; El Paso. Texas; Syracuse. New 
York; Camp Greene; Hog Island Ship Yards; 
Camp Merritt; Camp Sevier; Camp Wads- 
worth. Promoted from mechanic to sergt. in 
Supply Dept. Mustered out March 10, 1919. 





Claude Garland Kirkham Leslie E. Kislingbury Whitford R. Kislingbury 

Storm Lake Alta Alta 



Chris Klad-strup 
Newell 




Nels N. Kladytrup 
Newell 



Berger R. Kline 
Nokomis Township 



Krie A. Kling 
Washington Township 



Oscar \V. Kling- 
Nokomis Township 




Edward William Klockow 
Brooke Township 



E. Felix Kluge 
Elk Township 



Chris A. Knack 
Grant Township 



Gerhardt Knudsen 
Newell 




Tiltei'd li. Kmnlsim 
Barnes Township 



Albert G. Koth 
Nokomis Township 



Brooke Township 



Anders Krusborg: 
Newell 




Edward P. Kruse 
Newell 



Thomas Laffin 
Fairfield Township 



Charles Lally 
Storm Lake 



Laurits Landsness 
Lee Township 




Henry H. Langner 
Maple Valley Township 



Sidney S. Lanham 
Alta 



Harold J. Larsen 
Providence Township 



Hubert C. Larsen 
Alta 



134 



HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA MSTA COUNTY 



KENNEDY, THOMAS P. 

Washington Township 
Born July 18, 1896. Enl. July 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. L, 16th Regt. 1st Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon six weeks; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed from Hoboken on U. S. S. America Sep- 
tember 20: landed Brest September 29. To 
Meuse-Argonne front and remained there until 
armistice was signed; was sent to field hosp. 
fourteen days, then to a casual company 
with 42d Div.; rejoined 1st Div. January 9 
at Gen. Hdiirs. at Montabar; at Oberher; to 
Durnbach; to Selters; to Ettinghausen; back 
to Selters; from here division was moved to 
Brest. Sailed on Amphion August 23, 1919; 
landed New York September 19, 1919. To 
Camp Merritt; to Camp Meade; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out September 24, 1919. 



KENNEDY, WHiLIAM J. 

Washing-ton Township 
Born August 14, 1888. Enl. July 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. H, 5th Replm. TTth Div. 
Trained at Camp Gordon five weeks; to Camp 
Merritt. Sailed to France. Moved up to the 
front lines the day after the armistice was 
signed; transferred to Artillery 1st of Janu- 
ary, 1919; in Batt. A. F. A. 304. Mustered out 
May 18, 1919. 



KIDMAN, GEORGE C. 
liCe Township 
Born October 28, 1886. Enl. September 20, 
1917. Pvt. Q. M. Detachment, Q. M. C. 
Trained at Camp Dodge September 20, to 
November 1, 1917; to Camp Cody November 1 
to May 22, 1918; to Ft. Sam Houston May 22 
to July 20; to Camp Scurrey July 20 to April 
15, 1919. Mustered out April 15, 1919. 



KIEITY, THOMAS T. 
Storm liake 
Born July 2, 1.S9.'!. Knl. .June 4. 1917. Trained 
at Cherokee; at State Fair Grounds; to Camp 
Mills. Sailed from Hoboken on U. S. S. Presi- 
dent Grant October 18; returned to port Octo- 
ber 28; re-embarked on English ship Celtic; 
landed Liverpool December 1. To Winchester 
9 days; to Le Havre December 11. To Rima- 
court; to Langres; to Baccarat; entered line 
in Luneville sector February 22; to Cham- 
pagne July 1 to 18; to Chateau-Thierry July 
22 to August 5; at St. Mihiel September 12; 
wounded by machine-gun bullet September 12; 
to Base Hosp. No. 68 at Mars; to Base Hosp. 
No. 101 at St. Nazaire. Sailed on Rinjdam 
December 18; landed Newport News January 
1. 1919. To hospital at Richmond. Virginia: 
to Camp Dodge, January 9. Mustered out 
March 1, 1919. 



KESI.ER, ROBERT 
Storm Iiake 
Born January 12. 1891. Enl. February 25, 
1918. Corp. Co. F, 33d Regt. Trained at 
Camp Devens. Sailed for France June 29 from 
New York; landed Brest July 12. Saw serv- 
ice in France. Sailed from Brest May 20, 
1919; landed Newport News June 1. To Camp 
Stewart: to Camp Hill; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out June 15. 1919. 



KIIIiSHOI.M, EJVIND 

Storm liake 
Born April 15, 1893. Enl. March 4, 1918. 
Pvt. Casual Co. Trained at Camp Jackson; 
Camp Hancock. Sailed May 25, 1918. Sta- 
tioned at several camps in southern France, 
but spent most of the time at Camp Mahun; 
to Is-sur-Tille; to St. Luebes; was at Camp 
Is-sur-Tille in artillery training school when 
the armistice was signed. Sailed for U. S. 
July 3, 1919. Mustered out July 26, 1919. 



KESTEL, ANTHONY 
Hayes Township 

Born February 27, 1x94. Enl. July 1. 1918. 
L. M. M. in Naval Reserve Force. Trained at 
G. L. N. T. S. as aviation mechanic: trans, 
to Q. M. C. Aviation. Mustered out January 
12, 1919. 



KIXI.SHOI.M, VIGGO 

Alta 

Born September 17, 1895. Enl. July 29. 1918. 
Musician 2d-cl. Hdcirs. Co. 212th Engrs.. 12th 
Div. Trained at Camp Forrest; Camp Devens. 
Mustered out at Camp Dodge February 8. 
1919. 



KEVANE, WlililAM THOMAS 
Rembrandt 

Born September 25, 1897. Enl. April 12. 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Batt. C, 14th F. A. Trained at 
Ft. Sill. Mustered out January 16, 1919. 



KINDWAIiIi, EIiMER CHESTER 

Alta 

Born November 11, 1888. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. M, 163d Inf. 41st Div. Trained at 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



^jo 



Camp Gordon in Co. D. 6th Replni. Regt.; 
to Camp Merritt Co. 24 Inf. Replm. Left 
Hoboken August 29; landed Brest September 
12. To St. George with Co. M, 163d Int.; to 
Mt. Richard, 163rd Mach. Gunners of Inf. 
Sailed from Brest February 4 on U. S. S. 
Huntington; landed Hoboken February 16, 
1919. To Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out March 4, 1919. 



KINNEBVF, JAIVIES J. 
Ne^well 
Born January 19, 1895. Enl. May 5, 1917. 
Mess sgt. Co, A, 331st Inf. S3d Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; Camp Cody; Camp Di.x. 
Sailed October 13; landed Breckenridge. Eng, 
To Soutlianipton; to Le Havre; to Le Mans: 
to Chemire; to Noyen; to Le Havre. Sailed 
from Brest January 17; landed New York 
January 25, 1919. To Camp Mills; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out February 8, 1919. 



July 11. To Camp Mills; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out July 18, 1919. 



KISI.INGBURY, WHITPORD E. 

Alta 

Bom January 27, 1891, Enl, July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon 29 days in Co. C. 4th Rpplm. 
Regt.; to Camp Merritt, Sailed from New York 
September 1 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed 
Brest September 12. To St. George fifteen 
days; to Verdun sector three weeks; to front 
lines in Meuse-Argonne twelve days when 
armistice was signed; November 24 sent to 
Field Hosp. 315 with influenza; sent into 
southern France to Base No. 19 for five 
weeks; to Suley with company two weeks; to 
Deanneur, then gradually moved back to St. 
Nazaire. Sailed May 16 on U. S. S. Texan; 
landed Philadelphia May 29, 1919. To Camp 
Dix; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 8, 
1919. 



XIBKHAM, CIiATTDE GARI.AND 

Storm Iiake 
Born October 14. 1895. Enl. September 18, 
1917. Corp. Batt. F, 320th F. A. 82d Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge with Hdci. Co. 350tli 
Inf.; to Camp Gordon; to Camp Mills May 
10. Sailed from New York on English ship 
City of Exeter May 18; landed Liverpool May 
3(1. To Camp Winchester May 31; left Winches- 
ter June 2; arrived Southampton June 2; landed 
France June 3. Billeted at Camp Le Havre 
No. 2; to Camp La Courtine June 6, trained 
there until August 8; to Chateau-Thierry; to 
Dieudnord August 21 to September 10; to 
Blenod-les-Pont-a-Nousson September 11 to 
21; to Chaudron Farm October 6 to November 
1; to St. Georges; to Immecourt November 
2 to 4; to Sommauthe-Beaumont November 5 
to 10; after November 25 attached to the 80th 
Div. and was the longest on the front at one 
time of any expeditionary force of artillery. 
Sailed from Bordeaux April 27; landed New 
York May 9, 1919. To Camp Dix; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out May 26, 1919. 



KISI.INGBVRV, I.ESI.II: E. 

Alta 
Born October 24, 1896. Enl. September 5. 
1918. Sgt. Ist-cl. Base Hosp. No. 105 Med. 
Dept. Trained at Camp Dodge two weeks; 
to Ft. Benjamin Harrison; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed from Hoboken October 28; landed 
Brest November 9. Stationed four miles out 
of Brest for seven months. Sailed from Brest 
June 30 on U. S. S. Frederick; landed Brooklyn 



KIiADSTBTTP, CHRIS 

Newell 
Born June 10, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. F, 313th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Sailed on U. S. S. Plattsburg 
from New York August 29; landed Brest Sep- 
tember 12. To St. George and then to Rupt; 
to Argonne-Meuse front from November 1 to 
11; to Verdun one month: to Bar le Due; to La 
Fanche; to Chalet near St. Nazaire. Sailed 
May 16 on S. S. Paysandic; landed Newport 
News June 2. Mustered out June 15, 1919. 



KI.ASSTRVF, NEIiS N. 
Ne'well 
Born August 24, 1887. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt, Co. C, 116th Engrs. 41st Div. Trained 
at Camp Forrest. Sailed October 20; landed 
Brest. To Angers; to St. Nazaire. Mustered 
out January 14, 1919. 



KI.IM'i: ARTHUR D. 

Nokomis Township 
Born April 8, 1888. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. I, 163d Inf. 41st Div.; later pvt. 
Hdqrs. Co. 23d Inf. 2d Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon with Co. D, 10th Replm. Bn.; to Camp 
Merritt with Co. 24 Replm. Inf. Sai'ed from 
Hoboken August 29: landed Brest September 
12. To St. George with Co. I, 163d Inf., 41st 
Div.; to Coblenz: to Bordeaux. t^niVd on U. 
S. S. Santa Teresa April 11; landed Hoboken 
April 23, 1919. To Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out May 16, 1919. 



136 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA \qSTA COUNTY 



KI.INE, BERGEB B. 

Nokomis Township 
Born August 25, 1893. Kn). Fflj. 25. 191S. 
Pvt. Co. H, 349th Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge two months; to Camp Logan; 
to Camp Upton. Sailed from New York May 
16 on Agamemnon; landed Brest May 24. 
To Camp at Brest; to Engli-sh sector four and 
one-half weeks; to force co-operating with the 
Australians until August 24; with them until 
armistice; to Luxemburg with Army of Occu- 
pation from December 19 to May 11, 1919; to 
Brest. Sailed May 11 on U. S. S. Slboney; 
landed New York. To Camp Mills; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out May 29, 1919. 



KI.III'i:, OSCAR 

Alta 
Born July 7. 1890. Enl. May 28. 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. A, 352d Inf, 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; Camp Mills. Sailed from 
New Y'ork August 16; landed Liverpool August 
28 To Winchester; to Southampton; to Le 
Havre August 29. At A. E. F. camp near Le 
Havre; entered line of fighting in Haute-Alsace 
sector October 24; in action 10 days; to Bel- 
fort area; to Lucy; to Alsace sector; to 
Pondrecourt area; to St. Nazaire. Sailed May 
21; landed Camp Morris on June 1. To Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 13. 1919. 



KI.ING, ERIC A. 

■WasliiniTtoii Township 
Born July 2t;, 1.S92. Knl. .luni- IT. 1917. Pvt. 
(horseshoerl Troop C. 4th Cavalry. Trained: 
Ft. Logan one month; to San Francisco two 
and one-half months; to Hawaii fifteen 
months; to Texas for border duty at Ft. Ring- 
gold until September 9, 1919. Mustered out 
September 9, 1919. 



Y'orl\; to Washington for parade; to Camp 
Meade; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out Sep- 
tember 24. 1919. 



Ki;OCKOW, EDWARD M. 

Brooke To'wnship 

Born June 7, 1892. Enl. June 26. 1918. 
Wagoner. Co. B, 313th Engrs., 88th Div. 
Trained at Camj) Dodge; to Camp Mills. Sailed 
on ship Plassy August 16; landed Liverpool 
August 28. To Camp Knotty Ash; to South- 
ampton; sailed across Chanel to Le Havre 
August 30. To Le Lammes; to Hericourt; to 
Chevanne. here received intensive training; 
to Elback. Alsace, in front lines October 10; 
to Fountain, built warehouses; to Belfort; 
to Pangy-sur-Meuse to take part in the Metz 
offensive; arrived there November 10; to 
Tro\assey to take possession of front 
line trenches, while there armistice was 
signed; to Pangy Moselle, built railroads; to 
St. Mihiel to clean up town for three months; 
to De Mange to clean up town; to St.- Nazaire 
May 20. Sailed May 25 on Modawaska; landed 
New Y'ork June 5. To Camp Mills; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 16, 1919. 



KI.UGE, E. FEI.IX 
Elk Township 

Born Xovember 20. 1SS7. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from 
Hoboken August 29; landed Brest .September 
13. To St. Georges; to Vei'dun, whei'e he 
entered line October 12; to Argonne Forest 
October 25; to Evac. Hosp. ^To. 3; to Base 
Hosp. No. 218; to camp at Bordeaux; was 
wounded in battle of Argonne Forest in arm. 
Sailed to New York January 18, 1919; landed 
January 28. To Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
February 21, 1919. 



KI.ING, OSCAR W. 
Nokoinis Township 
Born May 3. 1896. Enl. July 24. 1918. Corp. 
Co. K, 28th Regt., 1st Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon three months in 4th and 6th Replm. 
Regts.; to Camp Merritt. Sailed on Leviathan 
October 27, 1918; landed Liverpool November 

3. To Southampton; to Le Havre. To front 
at Sedan; joined 1st Div. at Verdun after 
armistice was signed; to Ahn, Germany; to 
Luxemburg one week; to Coblenz. Div. had 
quarters at Montabaar; took over 2d Div. Area 
at New Neuvied for two weeks; moved back 
to Brest. Sailed for U. S. on Liberator on 
August 22, 1919; landed New Y'ork September 

4, 1919. To Camp Merritt; in parade in New 



KNACK, CHRIS A. 

Grant Township 
Born December 16, 1896. Enl. September 
5, 1918. Pvt. in Engrs. and Military Police 
Organizations. Trained at Camp Dodge from 
September 5 until January 28. 1919; two 
months in Engrs. and two months in Military 
Police. Mustered out at Camp Dodge, January 
28, 1919. 

KNUDSON, GERHARDT 

Newell 

Born April 28, 1898. Enl. September 28, 
1918. Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista 
College. Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered out 
December 13, 1918, 



HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA A'ISTA COUNTY 



137 



KITUDSOK, TII.FEBD ROSS 

Barnes Township 
Born July 23. IS'.to. Unl. June 2e, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D. Development Bn. No. 1. Trained 
at Camp Dodge, member of 313th Engrs. from 
June 26 to August 1, with 163d Development 
Bn. No. 1 from August 20 to December 28. 
1918. In hosp. from October 20 to December 
1'.I18. Mustered out December 11, 1918. 

KOTH, AI.BERT G. 
Nokomis Township 

Born October 16, 1894. Enl, August 20, 1918. 
Pvt. Med. Dept. Base Hosp. No. 126. Trained 
at Camp Gordon three weeks with 4th Replm. 
Regt.; to Camp McClellan with Med. Dept. 
Base Hosp. No. 126 November 1, 1918. 
Mustered out December 11. 1918. 

KRACHT, GEOBGE C. 

Brooke Township 

Born June 1, 1896. Enl. February 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. U 351st Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge in Co. M, 131st Regt.; to Camp 
Upton. Sailed May 22 on Leviathan; landed 
Brest May 30. Trained at Perregot for three 
weeks; to Albert sector; to Chippily Ridge; 
to Verdun sector; to Argonne-Meuse offensive; 
to Gressaire Woods offensive and defensive 
until 'November 11; to Luxemburg from De- 
cember 22 until May 1, 1919: to Brest. Sailed 
on Kaiserin Augusta May 17, landed Hoboken 
May 23. To Camp Mills; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out May 31, 1919. 

KROG, OTTO J. 

Grant Township 
Born May 17, 1891. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. F, 313th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon from July 27 to August 23. Sailed 
from Hoboken August 30 on U. S. S. - Platts- 
burg; landed Brest September 12. To St. 
Georges until October 5; to Verdun front 
from October 5 to 22; to Meuse sector; to Ver- 
dun front October 27; in offensive until No- 
vember 11; to Duie; transferred to Verdun; 
stationed at Conde until March 11; to La Fuch 
April 23; to Cholet; to St. Nazaire. Sailed 
May 16 on Pasando; landed New York June 
2. To Camp Hill; to Camp Stewart; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 12, 1919. 

KRUSBORG, ANDBRS 

Otherwise known as ANDERS K. ANDEREM' 

M'e'well 

Born November 23, 1894. Enl. July 24. 

1918. Pvt. Co. D, 162d Inf. 41st Div. Trained 

at Camp Gordon. Sailed from New York Octo- 



ber 27 on British boat; landed Liverpool No- 
vember 8. To Winchester 3 days; to Le Havre, 
the day after the armistice was signed. Sta- 
tioned at Contres from November 16 to Feb- 
ruary 2, 1919. Sailed from Brest February 
19 on the U. S. S. Frederick; landed U. S. 
March 2. To Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
March 14. 1919. 



KRVSE, ED-WARD F. 

Newell 
Born October 31, 1892. Enl. July 29. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 212th Engrs., 12th Div. Trained 
at Camp Forrest; to Camp Devens. Mustered 
out January 31. 1919. 

IiATTT^TH, THOMAS 
Fairfield Township 
Born January 18, 1895. Enl. September 20, 

1917. Corp. 2d Bn. Int. Section 3Sth Regt. 
3d Div. Trained at Comp Dodge; to Camp 
Pike. Landed in France July 1. To Gondre- 
court for training; in the Aisne-Marne offen- 
sive from July 18 to 27; in Vesle sector 
August 4 to 11; in Meuse-Argonne September 
30 to October 27; with Army of Occupation 
December 1 to August 6, 1919. Mustered out 
August 29, 1919. 

I.AI.I.Y, CHARLES 

Storni liake 
Born October 19, 1896. Enl. September 5, 

1918. Pvt. Co. 105 Kerhoun Hosp. Center. 
Trained at Camp Dodge, trans, to Med. Corps. 
To France. Stationed at Kerhoun Hosp. Cen- 
ter; later moved to Pontome.ver Camp Hosp. 
No. 33, where he was stationed until October 
19, when he returned to the United States. 
Mustered out November 4, 1919. 

LANCASTER, JOHN W. 

Frovidence To'wnship 

Born July 15, 1893. Enl. September 5. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, M. P. 19th Div. Trained at Camp 
Dodge, assigned to Co. 58, 15th Bn, 163 D. B.; 
October 15, trans, to Co. A. M. P. 19th Div.; 
November 1 trans, to Camp Grant to Officers' 
Training School and remained there until 
mustered out November 30. 1918. 

I.ANDSNESS, I.AURITS 
lee Township 
Born April 15. 1887. Enl. August 20, 1918. 
Pvt. Trained at Camp McClellan May 25 to 
December 12; at Camp Gordon five weeks. 
Mustered out at Camp McClellan December 
12, 1918. 




Carl A. Larson 
Maple Valley Township 



Uavid S. Larson 
Alta 



Erick Larson 
Elk Township 



Gustave Barney Larson 
Sioux Rapids 



P^^^^HB 


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jfl 




m 




Harry W. Larson 
Fairfield Township 



Lambert Joshua Larson Reuben Ferdinand Larson William O. Larson 

Alta Alta Linn Grove 




Andreas M. Lauridsen 
Elk Township 



Xels E. Lauridson 
Newell 



Ichabod A. Lawton 
Newell 



Denton N. Layman 
Newell 



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Grant Township 



lUiymund H. I^eonard 
Sioux Rapids 



Fred Li-miilri- Gi-oiyi- llt-nderson Lewis 

Washington Township Storm Lalie 




Leo Lewis 
Storm Lake 



Thomas Lewis 
Linn Grove 



Virgil S. Lewis Kdmund Lichtenberg 

Marathon Maple Valley Township 




Otto F. Lichtenberg Hjalmer F. Lilja 

Alta Maple Valley Township 



Edward Lind Charles Ausust Lindblade 

Marathon Alta 



I40 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA \'ISTA COUNTY 



IiANGNEB, HENRY H. 

Maple Valley Township 
Born November 30, 18115. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 210th Engrs. Trained at Camp 
Pore.st; Camp Funston; to Camp Mills; to 
Camp Hunmphrey.s; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out February 19, 1919. 



LANHAM, SIDNEY S. 
Alta 

Born July 16, 1901. Enl. April 1, 1918. Sea- 
man, U. S. Xavy. Trained at G. L. N. T. S.; 
to U. S. Naval Operating Base. Hampton 
Roads. Sailed on U. S. S. Finland January 9. 
1919; trans, to U. S. S. Florida and left for 
Ouantanamo Bay. February 4 for battle prac- 
tice; to St. Kitts Island, British West Indies; 
later cruised along coast of South America and 
Panama; to Cuba;" to Haiti and Porto Rico; 
got under way for the United States April 
10, 1919; anchored in North River April 16; 
ship gave a ball at Terrace Gardens. New 
York. April 20. Mustered out May 1. 1919. 



I.ABSEN, HAROI.I> J. 
Providence Township 

Born February 21, 1889. Enl. February 25. 
1918. Pvt. Co. L, 131st Regt. 33d Division. 
Trained at Camp Dodge and Camp Logan. 
Sailed from New York May 22 on Leviathan; 
landed Brest May 30. To Welville; to the 
line at Perrigott on Albert front until August 
5; over the top at Albert front; to Chippiley. 
went over top August 9; to Amiens; to Ver- 
dun front at Germanville, served here ten 
days; on Meuse river September 26 for objec- 
tive for five miles, held lines here until Octo- 
ber 5; October 10 went over the top again, 
having hardest fight of campaign taking town 
of Sonstanvoy, was in reserve for six days; 
on outpost duty on this front, and went over 
top again November 10; in lines when armis- 
tice was signed; to Luxemburg, was here until 
April 13; to Brest. Sailed May 13 on S. S. 
Kaiserin; landed New York May 22. Mustered 
out May 31, 1919. 



IiARSEN, HUBERT C. 
Alta 

Born September 19, 1896. Enl. May 23, 1917. 
L. D. S. musician in Navy. Trained at G. L. 
N. T. S. for nine months; to Naval Operating 
Base at Hampton Roads one month; to U. S. 
S. Arkansas; to U. S. S. San Francisco three 
months: to U. S. S. Baltimore five months; to 
Great Lakes one month. Helped lay mine bar- 
rage between Norway and Scotland. Mustered 
out August 17. 1919. 



IiARSON, CARI. A. 

Maple Valley Township 
Born June i, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. 163d Inf. 41st Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon one month in 4th Replm. Regt. Co. D; 
to Camp Merritt. Sailed on U. S. S. Platts- 
burg. Trans, to 163d Inf. 41st Div. at St. 
George; was in hosp. with influenza; to Con- 
valescent Hosp. at St. George; and later to 
Montrichord; to Pontlevise Hosp.; to St. 
George. Sailed on U. S. S. Huntington Feb- 
ruar.\* 4; landed Hoboken February 16. To 
Camp Dix one week; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out March 4. 1919. 



I.ARSON, DAVIS S. 

Alta 
Born December 3, 1895. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Mustered out December 16. 
1918. 



IiARSON, ERICK 

Elk To-wnship 
Born January 17, 1893. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Mustered out December 21, 
1918. 



I.ARSON, GUSTAVE BARNEY 

Sioux Rapids 
Born July 15, 1893. Enl. December 5. 1917. 
Pvt. 122d Aerial Squadron, Army Aviation 
Branch. Trained at Ft. Logan; Kelly Field; 
Camp Vail; H. J. Damm Field. Mustered out 
July 22, 1919. 



IiARSON, HARRY W. 

Fairfield Township 

Born March 6, 1889. Enl. February 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. K, 119th Inf. 30th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge February 24 to April 6 in 351st 
Inf. 88th Div.; ordered to Camp Sevier from 
April 9 to May 7; to Camp Merritt. Sailed 
from Boston May 12 on British ship Loame- 
don; landed Liverpool May 27. To Dover May 
28; to Calais May 29. To Uese May 31; to 
front lines in Belgium July 3 to 5; July 24 
to first support line trenches in East Poperinge. 
Belgium: attached to Scotch Army for front 
line training; took charge of trenches on 
August 10 one-half mile south of Y'pres; in 
119th Field Hosp. with inlluenza on Si-ptember 
1; to 106th British Field Ambulance Septem- 
ber 5; to St. Pol; September 12 rejoined div.; 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



141 



to Tinnacourt September 23: to Sonime front; 
to St. Quentin sector: severely wounded Sep- 
tember 30 near Bellicourt: to Trouville, Brit- 
ish Hosp. No. 74, arm amputated; to Bath 
War Hosp. October 6 to 20; to U. S. Hosp. 
at Paignton, England November 29. Sailed 
on U. S. Cedric December 14; landed Nevr 
York December 23. To U. S. Debarkation 
Hosp., Ellis Island; January 4 to Ft. Des 
Moines. Mustered out at Hospital No. 26 May 
13, 1919. 

I.ABSON, JOHN 

Maratliou 
Enl. September 6, 1918. Pvt. 163d D. B. 
Trained at Camp Dodge. Mustered out Jan- 
uary 6. 1919. 

I.ABSON, LAMBEKT JOSHUA 

Alta 
Born August 22, 1900. Enl. October 11, 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista 
College, Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered out De- 
cember 13, 1918. 

I.ARSOI'T, BEUBEIT FERDINAND 
Alta 

Bern May 21, 1899. Enl. June 7, 1918. Yeo- 
man 2d-cl. Navy. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. 
one month; to Ellis Island; trans, to North 
Bombing Squadron. Sailed on U. S. S. Gold 
Shell, in July; landed Brest July 29. Trans, 
ferred to U. S. Naval Aviation Repair Base, 
Eastleigh. England, for eight months: to U. S. 
S. Brandenburg seven weeks until this boat 
was turned over to England; to U. S. Navy 
Mine Sweeping Forces. Inverness, Scotland, 
for five weeks. Sailed for U. S. from Brest 
on U. S. S. Harrisburg June 25, 1919; landed 
Hoboken July 2. To Bay Ridge Barracks: to 
Great Lakes. Mustered out August 20, 1919. 



i;aubenz, harry jui.ius 

Newell 

Born September 5, 1898. Enl. October 2, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. H, S. A. T. C. Trained: Iowa State 
University. Mustered out December 19. 1918. 



IiAURIDSEN, ANDREAS MARINUS 
Elk Township 

Born June 29. 1895. l-;?!]. .luly 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Sup. Co. 316th Regt. 79th Piv. Trained 
at Camp Gordon one month; to Camp Merritt. 
Was sent over as member of replm regt. Sailed 
from Hoboken August 31 on U. S. S. Platts- 
burg; landed Brest September 12. Was with 
79th Div. all the way and returned with this 
division. Sailed from St. Nazaire May 16; 
landed Philadelphia May 29, 1919. Sailed on 
U. S. S. Texan. To Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out June 8, li)19. 



I.AURIDSON, NEI^S E. 

Newell 
Born June 3, 1893. Enl. August 2, 1918. 
Pvt. Inf. Trained at Camp Forrest. Mustered 
out by reason of physical disability, August 
17. 1918. 



I.AWTON, ICHABOD A. 

Newell 
Born January 14, 1889. Enl. July 25, 1918. 
2d Lieut. 1st Inf. Replm. Trained at Camp 
Gordon; to Campi Humphreys. Promoted to 
Corp.. to sergt.. to 2d Lieut. Mustered out 
December 11, 1918. 



I.ABSON, 'WII.I.IAM O. 

Iiinu Grove 
Born August 8, 1897. Enl. in May, 1917. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Hdq. Co., 168th Regt.. 42d Div. 
Sailed for France in July. 1917. In action from 
February 20, 1918; took part in nearly all 
battles in which Americans participated: Lunr- 
ville sector. Champagne, Chateau-Thierry, .St. 
Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne; w'as with Army 
of Occupation. Mustered out April 8, 1919. 

I.ATTA, MARION M. 
Sioux Rapids 

Born A|)ril 1. 1.S9S. Enl. October 1. 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained Buena Vista Col- 
lege, Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered out Decem- 
ber 13, 1918. 



I.AYMAN, DENTON N. 
Ne'well 

Born January 11, 1890. Enl. December 14. 
1917. Sergt. Intelligence Dept., 328th Squad- 
ron Aviation. Trained at Ft. Logan; Kelly 
Field; Camp Taylor; to T. C. six months. 
Mustered out November 26, 1918. 



IiEE, HARRY B. 
Poland Township 

Born July 2.'.. lS:i4. lOnl. July 24. 191S. Pvt. 
53d Pioneer Infantry. Trained at Camp Gor- 
don in 438th Motor Supply Train, Motor Trans- 
portation Corps. Sailed from New Y'ork 
August 30 on IT. S. S. Plattsburg: landed Brest 
September 12. In hospital at St. Georges two 




Arthur E. C. Lindgren Clarence Elmer Lindlief 

Fairfield Township Storm Lake 



EI win Lindlief 
Alta 



Amos H. Lindsay 
Nokomis Township 




Thomas King Lloyd 
Linn Grove 



Ira H. Lockwood 
Storm Lake 



Arthur U. Lukkea 
Scott Township 



Fred O. Long 
Washington Township 




Harry S. Lovesee 
Storm Lake 



Joseph R. Loving Theodore T. Loving Carl Elem Lundberg 

Fairfield Township Fairfield Township Poland Township 





.Mi'lvin Lundeen 
Linn Grove 



Halph O. Lusher 
Storm Lake 



B']rt M. Mack 
Storm Lake 



Frank \V. Mack 
Storm Lake 




Alfred C. Madison 
Coon Township 



Hans '^. j^'adsen 
Newell 



Carl ^V. >''.dson 
Newell 



Carl A. Magnusen 
Nokomis Township 




Henry Fred Manteufel 
Hayes Township 



George Otto Marcher 
Elk Township 



Paul P. Mark 
Washington Township 



■William T. Mark 
Washington Township 



144 ■ HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



weeks; to Verdun front October 10; hauled 
ammunition to front until October 22; to 
Field Hosp. at Beneivaux until November 11; 
to Replm. Camp near Souilley; assigned to 
53d Pioneer Inf. November 24. Sailed from 
Bre.<!t April 22; landed Newport News May 4. 
To Camp Stewart; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out May 19, 1919. 



ver work; to Prov. Hosp. No. 1 with influenza 
and typhoid fever for three months, had oper- 
ation for mastoids; to Base Hosp. No. 79; to 
Kvac. Hosp. No. 31; to Keson June 5. Sailed 
as casual on U. S. S. Leviathan June 5; landed 
Hoboken June 12, 1919. To Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out June 19, 1919. 



IiEHmAN, ERNEST W. 
Grant To-wnship 
Born February 21, 1894. Bnl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, 316th Regt., 79th Div. Trained 
at Camp Gordon. Sailed from New York 
Augu.st 29; landed Brest September 12. To 
St. Georges two weeks; to Verdun sector; to 
Mockasin Woods; November 5 to Alsace-Lor- 
raine front for three days; to Reveille until 
December 26; to Issencourt until March 28; 
to Trampart; to Vallet; to St. Nazaire. Sailed 
May 15; landed Philadelphia May 29. Mustered 
out June 8, 1919. 



I.i:ONARD, RAYMOKD K. 

Sioux Rapids 
Born July 29, 1887. Enl. December 11, 1917. 
Sgt. Second Prov. Ordnance Dept. Bn., Army 
Ordnance Dept., later Intermediate Ordnance 
Depot No. 4, France. Trained at Camp Dodge; 
to Camp Merritt April 1. Sailed from New 
York on Aquatania April 2; landed Liverpool 
April 10. Crossed Channel to Le Havre April 
12. To Mehun and worked there until August 
20; to Toul sector August 23, served on am- 
munition supply work during St. Mihiel offen- 
sive; assigned to Munitions Office 4th Army 
Corps October 4, .=-alvaged ammunition; put in 
charge of ammunition dump at Limey Octo- 
ber 26 until November 11; to Buconville; to 
Mayen. Germany, December 15; on detached 
service with Chief Ordnance Officer at Coblenz 
until March 8, 1919. Sailed from Brest April 
S; landed in U. S. April 20. Mustered out at 
Mitchell Fipkl April 25, 1919. 



IiESSMEIER, FRED 

■Washington Township 
Born October 16, 1892. Enl. June 23, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, 350th Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge one month; to Camp Upton 
August 7; trans, to port of embarkation at 
New York August 11. Sailed on S. S. Delta 
August 11; landed New London, Eng.. August 
26. To Camp Rumsey; crossed English Chan- 
nel to Cherbourg. Trained at Semur one 
month: to Belfort; to Boschello near front; 
23 days on patrol duty; to Toul sector; to 
Sanzy; to Conercy; to Mullemount for maneu- 



IiEWIS EDWIN V. 

Ne'well 
Born January lu. l.sxii. Enl. May 10, 1918. 
Sgt. Ist-cl. In School for Bakers and Cooks. 
Trained at Camp Dodge; was instructor in 
cooking. Mustered out January 23. 1919. 



I.EWIS FI.OYD M. 

Storm liake 
Born October 16, 1896. Enl. September 6, 
1918. Pvt. in Officers' Training School at 
Camp Pike. Trained at Camp Pike. Mustered 
out December 1, 1918. 



I;E'WIS, GEORGE HENDERSON 

Storm Ijake 

Born June 6, 1887. Enl. September 20, 1917. 
Corp. Co. F. 313th Engrs. SSth Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge. Promoted from pvt. to corp. 
March 15, 1918. Sailed August 16, 1918; landed 
Le Havre August 31. Trained in back areas 
until October 5; at front at south end of battle 
line October 7; at Haute-Alsace front October 
7 to November 9, doing engineer work, no 
lighting, under shrapnel fire a few times; after 
armistice built railroad on line to Metz from 
south and built and re:)aired roads. Sailed 
from St. Nazaire May 27; landed New York 
June 6, 1919. Mustered out June 15, 1919. 



I.EWIS, I.EO 

Storm Iiake 
Born June 27, 1896. Enl. February 25, 1918. 
Radio Operator. Trained at G. L. N. T. S.; at 
Cambridge. Harvard University. Mustered out 
December 19, 1918. 



IiEVriS, THOMAS 

Iiinn Grove 
Born November 4, 1890. Enl. July 21. 191S. 
Pvt. Co. C, 11th Bn. 4th Replm. Regt. Trained 
at Camp Gordon. Saw foreign service begin- 
ning August 24, 1918; in guard duty at Camp 
Hosp. No. 26 at St. Agni, France. Mustered 
out February 25, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VIST A COUNTY 



145 



I>i:WIS, VIRCrlli s. 
Marathon 

Born September 5. 18a3. Enl. July 1, 1918. 
Pvt. Motorized Field Artillery. Trained with 
Batt. B. 3d Regt. F. A. R. D. ; at Armour In.sti- 
tute from July 1 to August 26; to Camp Taylor 
August 28 to December 31. Mustered out 
December 31, 1918. 



IiICHTEKTBEBG, EDMUND 
Maple Valley Township 
Born October 4, 1894. Enl. September 20, 
1917. Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. E, 18th Regt. 1st Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge; to Camp Pike. 
Sailed from Hoboken on British transport 
Aurelius June 20, 1918; landed Cherbourg, 
July 5, 1918. In Sazuria sector August 7 to 
24; to St. Mihiel offensive September 12 to 13; 
Meuse-Argonne October 21 to November 8; 
in Army of Occupation December 1 to August 
18, 1919. Citation awarded G. O. 5th Hdq. 1st 
Brig. June 1, 1919; decorated by the French 
Government with tlie red-green shoulder cord. 
Sailed from Brest on U. S. S. Santa Teresa 
August 23; landed Hoboken September 4, 
1919. Mustered out September 24, 1919. 



IiICHTENBEBG, OTTO F. 

Alta 
Born June 12, 1896. Enl. September 5, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. F. 88th Inf. 19tli Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge. Promoted to pvt. Ist-cl. 
Mustered out February 9, 1919. 



I.rEBSCH, HEBMAN A, 

Stomi liake 
Born January 9, 1893. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, 4th Replm. Bn. Trained at Camp 
Gordon. Mustered out December 19. 1918. 



I.IEBSCH, WIIiIiIAM T. 

Storm Iiake 

Born January 17, 1890. Enl. SeiUember 17, 
1918. Pvt. Ist-cl. Med. Corps. Motor Detach- 
ment. Trained at Camp Dodge; to Camp Pike; 
to Camp Jackson. Mustered out Febuary 12, 
1919. 



Sailed August 30 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed 
September 12 in France. To Verdun sector 
two weeks; moved to front lines November 
7; to Bvac. Hosp. No. 15 December 6 to 18; left 
hospital February 28, 1919, cured of influenza 
and typhoid fever. Sailed from St. Nazaire 
May 16; landed Philadelphia May 29. To Camp 
Dix; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 7, 
1919. 

IiIDTD, EDWARD 

Marathon 

Born September 24, 1896. Enl. September 5, 

1918. Pvt. Ist-cl. 2d Inf., 19th Div. Trained 

at Camp Dodge from .'September 6. 1918, to 

June 30, 1919. Mustered out June 30, 1919. 



I.IITDBI.ADE, CKARI.es AUGUST 

Alta 
Born August 2, 1886. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, 164th Inf. 41st Div. Trained at 
Camp Pike; to Camp Merritt. Sailed October 
1; landed Brest October 13. To Contres; to 
Friend about six weeks; to St. Aignan two 
weeks, and then were moved frequently until 
time for deijarture for home; did not partici- 
pate in any battle, but was under orders to 
leave for front when armistice was signed. 
Mustered out March 11, 1919. 



IiINDGREN, ARTHUR E. C. 
Fairfield Township ' 

Born November 19, 1889. Enl. June 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Med. Dept. Mustered out July 9, 1918. 
Re-enlisted September 4, 1918. Pvt. Hdq. 
Casual Detachment M. O. T. C, Trained at 
Fort Riley. Mustered out on account of flat 
feet, January 13, 1919. 



I^INDIiIEF, CI.ABENCE EI.MER 

Storm liake 

Born April 3. 1S97. Enl. July 27. 191S. 
Seaman 2d-cl. U. S. N. R. Trained at G. L.. 
N. T. S. one month; to Puget Sound Naval 
Training Station; reported for active duty on 
U. S. S. AVest Zeda. Sailed from Portland, 
Oregon. December 28 with cargo of Hour liuund 
for Brest. Arrived New York January 29 
where he helped load provisions. Received a 
release from active duty February 3, 1919. 



I.II.JA, HJAI.MER F. 

Maple Valley To^rnship 

Born September 10, 1892. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Inf.; permanently as- 
signed to 316th Regt. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon four weeks; to Camp Merritt. 



I,INDI.IEF, ELWIN 

Alta 

Born April 4, 1899. Enl. October 11, 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista 
College, Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered out De- 
cember 13, 1918. 



146 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA MSTA COUNTY 



I.INDMABK, GERHARD 
Albert City- 
Born SeptomlnT 111. 1S93. Enl. and assigned 
to 13th Inf. 163d Depot Brigade. Trained at 
Camp Dodge. 

IINDSAY, AMOS 
Nokomis Township 

Born September 19. 1SS7. Enl. Peljruary 24. 
1918. Pvt. Batt. B, 305th Regt. F. A. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; to Camp Upton. Sailed April 
2G on U. S. S. Northern Pacific; landed 
Brest May 4, 1918. To Alsace-Lorraine, Bac- 
carat sector; to Meiise-Argonne; Oise to Aisne 
river; to Cherry Chatraine; to Havicourt when 
armistice was signed; to Yonne four days; to 
Verpel; to Arcembavr; to Malicome; to Brest. 
Sailed April 21 on captured Kaiser- Wilhelm; 
landed Hoboken April 29. To Camp Mills 
two weeks; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
May 18, 1919. 

LLOYD, THOMAS KING 

Iiinn Grove 
Born December 14, 1894. Enl. June, 1917. 
Sgt. Co. 79, 6th Regt., Marines, 2d Div. Trained 
at Paris Island; Quantico, Va. Sailed from 
Hoboken August 18 on the U. S. S. Von Steu- 
ben; landed Brest August 27. In Meuse-Ar- 
gonne offensive, went over the top November 
1; after armistice with Army of Occupation 
seven months at Rheinhold, Germany. Won 
honors as expert rifleman; recommended for 
Good Conduct Medal; recommended for re- 
instatement upon re-enlistment. Sailed on U. 
S. S. George Washington July 25; landed Camp 
Mills August 3. 1919. Mustered out August 
13. 1919. 

LOCKWOOS, IRA H. 

Stonu Lake 
Born November 29, 1883. Enl. July 10, 1917. 
Captain, Evac. Hosp. No. 1. Sailed from New 
York December 24. 1917. on British ship Can- 
ada; landed Liverpool January 8. To Win- 
chester 3 days; to Southampton; to Le Havre. 
To Blois; to Is-sur-Tille; to Toul January 19; 
to Sebastapol Barracks; to Evac. Hosp. until 
February 19. 1919; to Nantes; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed April 14 on Prince Matioka; landed 
Newport News April 27. To Camp Hill; to 
Camp Dcdge. Mustered out May 5. 1919. 

LOKKEIT, ARTHUR O. 

Scott To-wnship 
Born November 22, 1887. Enl. May 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 352d Regt., 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; there trans. June 15 to Co. 18, 
5th Bn. 163d D. B. Mustered out November 30. 
1918. 



LONG, FRED G. 

Washington Township 
Born December 27. ISIUL l-^nl. January 2, 
1918. Pvt. Aerial Squadron, Div. No. 831, 
Aviation Service. Trained: Winchester and 
►Stanford, England; chief work, mechanic in 
airplane service. Mustered out December 23, 
1918. 

LOVESEE, HARRY S. 
Stonu Lake 

Born November 3. 1SS8. Enl. April 9, 1918. 
Corp. Batt. B, 12th Regt. M. T. C. Trained at 
Wisconsin State University in A. T. S.; to 
Camp Jacksor\ as instructor in driving am- 
munition trucks. Mustered out April 3, 1919. 



LOVESEE, RALPH E. 
Storm Lake 
Born January 10. 1893. Served in 15th Veter- 
inary Hosp. Unit, Med. Corps. 



LOVING, JOSEPH R. 
Fairfield Township 

Born August 25, 1894. Enl. Fe'-ruary 2^. 
1918. Pvt. 306th Co. Batt. E. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; to Camp UiJton. Sailed April 
22 on Leviathan; landed Brest May 2. To 
Bordeaux; to front lines in Baccarat sector; to 
Chateau-Thierry about 21 days; to Argonne 
front until November 10; to Boudeville two 
months; to Noyen: to Brest. Sailed April 20 
on Agamemnon: landed Hoboken April 28. To 
Camp Mills; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
May 18. 1919. 



LOVING, THEODORE E. 

Fairfield Township 

Born November 19, lS9ii. Enl. February 24. 
1918. Pvt. Co. C, 314th Ammunition Train, 
89th Div. Trained at Camp Dodge in Co. E. 
351st Inf.; to Camp Upton March 2i i-^ (^o. 
B, 39th Engrs. 3 weeks; to Batt. F, 305th F. 
A.; to Hosp. with infected arm; assigned to 
Depot Brigade; June 10 to Camp Mills, at- 
tached to Ammunition Train. Sailed on Cretic 
June 27; landed Liverpool July 10. To camp 
at Winchester; to Southampton; to Cherbourg 
July 12. To rest camp 2 days; to Eyseines; 
to front August 3 at Andelot; in motor trucks 
to Bourq; received more trucks next day and 
began duty at front hauling ammunition to 
infantry and artillery in Toul sector; Sep- 
tember 14 to Bouillonville; to Flircy. Essy. 
Envezin. Limey. Pannes. Benny, Thiaucourt 
and other small villages; in this sector he was 
subjected to nightly shell fire and aerial raids. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA \ISTA COL'XTV 



147 



on the road and at Co. Hdqrs.; with others 
wounded and gassed sent to hospitals: re- 
joined comyany October 15 at Kxmouien Farm 
in Meuse-Argonne sector; supplied infantry at 
EpiJionville. Romagne, Cirges. Genes, Remons- 
ville. Bayonville, Barricourt, Nouahr, Tilly. 
Beauclair, Beaufort, Beaumont, Luhaville, and 
other points; subjected to shell fire and aerial 
raids; October 's5 under heavy shell fire, many 
men gassed and wounded at camp and on am- 
munition detail, at Romagne; at Barricourt 
took pontoon boats to be used in crossing 
Meuse river; after armistice moved to Stenay, 
Montmedy, Mixlatige, Belgiurfi; to Arlon; to 
La Rochette; to Luxemburg; to Flussem, Ger- 
many; to Gindorf; to Rohl, stationed here until 
May 10; to Erdorf, Germany; to Brest. Sailed 
May 16; landed May 25 at Hoboken. To Camp 
Upton; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 
«, Htlti. 

I.UCEY, JERRY T. 

Storin Iiake 

Born August 25, 188t;. lOnl. .lune 5, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E. 338th Regt., 8th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge. Sailed from New York August 
1; landed Liverpool. To Winchester; to South- 
ampton; to Le Havre. To Bordeaux. Sailed 
December 22; landed Newport News January 
5, 1919. Mustered out January 15, 1919. 



I.UNDBERG, CARI. EIiEM 

Poland Township 

Born January 12. 1897. Knl. September 5. 

1918. Pvt. Co. If, 88th Inf. 19th Div. Trained 

at Camp Dodge; confined to hospital one month. 

Mustered out December 17, 1918. 



IiUKDEEN, MEIiVIN 
I^inn G-rove 

Enl. October 9. 1917. Trained at Santiago. 
California. 

I.USHEB, RAIiFH O. 
,'3torin Iiake 

Born November 2(;. 1,S93. Enl. July 24, 
1918. Pvt. Hdqrs. Troop, Inf. 2d Div. Trained 
at Camp Gordon. Landed Brest September 
14, 191s. Detained three weeks at St. Georges 
witli influenza; joined tlie 2d Div. No\'ember 
1 in Meuse-Argonne Forest; after armistice 
passed witli troops across Belgium to Luxem- 
burg and the provinces of Germany west of 
the Rhine; crossed the Rhine December 13 and 
began duties with Army of Occupation until 
July 20: to Brest, Sailed July 25; landed Camp 
Mills. To Camp Dodge. Mustered out August 
14, 1919. 



MACK, BURT M, 
Storm liake 

Born r)ctober 6, l&.sl. Enl. October IS. 191.S. 
1st Lieut. Co. N, 2d Bn. In service at Edge- 
wood Arsenal, Edgewood, Md. Mustered out 
January 30, 1919. 



MACK, FRANK W. 
Storm Ziake 

Born October 23, issi. Enl. August 27. 1917. 
Major, Chemical Warfare Service. Served in 
Chemical Warfare Service, 2d Bn. Edgewood 
Arsenal: at Second Training Camp Ft. Snell- 
ing; at Fortress Monroe, Coast Artillery U, 
S. R. November 27, 1917. Promoted to 1st 
Lieut. Ordnance Corps; to Captain, Ordnance 
X. A. June 29, 1918; to Major, Chemical War- 
fare Service July 20, 1918. Mustered out 
March 20. 1919. 



MADISON, ALFRED C. 

Coon TowTiship 

Born December 12. 1S91. Enl. July 29. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, 122d Engrs. Trained at Camp 
Forrest July 30 to September 18. Sailed from 
New York September 30 on U. S. S. George 
Washington: landed Brest October 13. To Javes 
to November 12; to Allencon to November 20; 
to Le Mans November 21 and stationed there 
until May 1, 1919; to Joinville May 7 and 
assisted in building stadium; to Brest June 21. 
Sailed from Brest June 30 on Pretaria; landed 
Hoboken July 12, 1919. To Camp Mills; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out July 20, 1919. 



MADSEN, HANS C. 
Newell 

Born April 11, 1896, Enl. February 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. 48. 20th Engrs. Trained at 
Camp Dodge in Co. E, 351st Inf.; trans, to 
Co. 48, 20th Engrs.; to Washington, D. C. 
Sailed on U. S. S. Leviathan May 22; landed 
Brest May 30. June 15 to Sens, truck driver 
for American lumber mill; to Vaux Gironde 
September 14; to point near Bordeaux March 
10, drove truck for lumber mill. Sailed from 
Bordeaux June 10; landed New York June 21. 
Mustered out June 30, 1919. 



MADSON, CARI. W. 

Newell 

Born September 28, 1895. Enl. March 9. 
1918. Pvt. 75th Co.. Regt. Hdtp-s. C. A. C. 
Trained at Fort Moultrie. Sailed from Ho- 
boken on U. S. S. Sippeney September 6; 




Andred C. J. Mark Edmund L. Marousek William F. Marquardt 

Elk Townshii) Storm Lake Storm Lake 



Lc-sti-r William Marsh 
Sioux Rapids 




Roland M. Marten 
Storm Lake 



Kayminiil A. Mailz 
Storm Lake 



Joseph L. Mason 
Washington Township 



Clan-nie \i. Mattelln 
Poland Township 





Walter Matzdorff 
Elk Township 



William J. Matzdorff 
Brooke Township 



Frank G. May 
Storm Lake 



Oscar Mays 
Sioux Rapids 




Jesse Aledsker 
Rembrandt 



E(livaii) (• Meinking 
Brooke Township 



Kdward J. Mernin 
Providence Township 



Blanche Adeil Merry 
Sioux Rapids 




Roscoe Cecil Merry 
Sioux Rapids 



Arthur H. Meseck 
Grant Township 



Leo Meyer 
Truesdale 



Ora William Meyer 
Storm Lake 




Warren B. Meyers 
Truesdale 



Carl Edwin Mickelson 
Rembrandt 



Roy Aaron Mikelson 
Alta 



Thorwald V. Mikkelson 
Newell 



ISO 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



landed Brest September IS. To Grieves; to old 
Marne for training to November 11; to Le 
Mans; to St. Naizaire. Sailed February 2& on 
Kronland; landed March 10. Mustered out 
March 17, 1919. 



MACKNUSEN, CARIi A. 
Nokomis Township 

Born August 5, 1886. Enl. May 10, 1918. 
Seaman 2d-cl. Trained at G. L. N. T. S.; to 
receiving ship at Broklyn Navy Yard; to Ellis 
Island; to Philadelphia; put aboard oil tank to 
Ireland, Xaval Bay, six or seven weeks; to U. 
S. S. destroyer Duncan, on this ship until 
January 14, 1919; to Norfolk, on receiving ship 
one week; to Key West; on U. S. S. Dolphin on 
South Atlantic Coast Patrol until July 2S. 
1919; to G. L. N. T. S. Mustered out August 5, 
1919. 



MANTEUFEI., HENRY FRED 
Hayes Township 

Born September 17, 1894. Enl. February 24, 
1918. Pvt. Co. E, 117th Regt. 30th Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge; Camp Sevier. Sailed 
overseas. From July 17 to September 5 was in 
defensive warfare in the Ypres sector in Bel- 
gium; battle engagements and skirmishes ex- 
perienced along the Hindenburg line near Belli- 
court and Nauroy September 29 to 30; to Pon- 
cheaux and Geneva; to Premont; October 8 
wounded; to hospital at Trouville for two 
months^ Sailed for U. S. March 27 with divi- 
sion. Mustered out April 10, 1919. 



IVIARCKER, GEORGE OTTO 
Elk Township 
Born October 26, 1895. Enl. June 21, 1916. 
Sgt. Co. M, 168th Inf. 42d Div. Trained at 
Cherokee, Iowa, in Co. M, T. N. G.; spent winter 
of 1916-1917 in service on Mexican border at 
Brownsville, Texas; to Cherokee; to State Fair 
Grounds in spring of 1917. when company was 
sworn into Federal service. Sailed from Ho- 
boken October 18; landed Liverpool Novem- 
ber S; to Winchester; to Le Havre. December 
1. To Ouimacourt; to Baccarat; entered 
trenches In Luneville sector March 9; wounded 
March 9; to Baccarat Hosp.; to Base Hosp. 
No. 32; to Base Hosp. No. 9; to special train- 
ing battalion at St. Aignan: to Evac Hosp. 
No. 1; to Nancy; to St. Nazaire. Sailed on U. 
S. S. Princess Matoka; landed Newport News 
April 27. 1919. To Camp Hill; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out May 5, 1919. 



MARK, ANDREW C. J. 
Elk Township 

Born February 12. 1890. Enl. June 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 350th Regt. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon four weeks; to Camp Upton. 
.Sailed from New York August 11; landed Lon- 
don August 25. To Southampton; to Cher- 
bourg. To Semur; on Alsace-Lorraine front 
ten days; to Toul sector, in this area when 
armistice was signed; to Nein; to St. Nazaire. 
.Sailed for U. S. May 19 on Avlas; landed 
Newport News May 30. To Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out June 6, 1919. 



MARK, FAVI. F 

Washington Township 
Born October 9, 1897. Enl. May 5, 1917. 
Engineer, Co. D, 2d Regt. Trained at G. L. 
X. T. S.; to New York; served on U. S. S. 
.South Dakota two years; then transferred to 
Frederick. Enlisted for four years — still in 
service. 

MARK, WII.I.IAM T. 

Washington Township 

Burn February 7, 1901. Enl. January 29, 
1918. App. Seaman, Co. C, 13th Regt. Trained 
at Camp Paul Jones at G. L. N. T. S. En- 
listed for four years — still in service. 



MAROUSEK, EDMUND I.. 

Storm Iiake 
Born October 11, 1889. Enl. July 23, 1918. 
Acting N. C. O. Co. 14, unorganized. Trained 
two months at the School of Auto Mechanics 
at Austin; Balloon School, San Antonio, four 
months. Mustered out January 23, 1919. 



LLARQUARDT WILIIAM F. 
Storm Iiake 

Born November 13. 1886. Enl. May 13, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, 102d Regt., 26th Div. Trained at 
Jefferson Barracks; to Camp McArthur; to 
Camp Merritt. Trained in U. S. with Co. A, 
102d Regt. 26th Div., to which he was joined 
after sailing with 55th Regt. of 7th Div. Sailed 
.■Vugrust l.S; landed Brest. To camp one week; 
September 4 to front lines; hiked every night 
for a week to reach St. Mihiel, September 
10; into action at 8:00 a. m.; October 29 gassed 
and severely wounded; to Evac. Hosp. No. 24 
until January 28; to St. Aignan to casual com- 
pany; to Brest. Sailed March 12 on U. S. S. 
Huntington: landed New York March 23. To 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out April 2, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUXTY 



151 



IVEABQUETTE, VERNEB J. 
Storm Iiake 

Born February 10, ISSIG. Knl. May 13. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. L, 56th Regt. 7th Div. Trained at 
Camp McArthur; Cami) Merritt. Sailed on 
Leviathan August 3; landed Brest. To Bradg- 
long; to Ft. Villa-de-Sac; to Lorraine front 
Octoljer 10; to Argoniie Octolicr 23; on the 
line when armistice was signed; to Manonville 
December 9; to Ft. de Pagny April G; to Le 
Mans May 23; to Brest. Sailed for U. S. 
June 16; landed [Newport News June 21. To 
Camp Stewart; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
July 5, 1919. 



MASON, JOSEFK L. 
'Washing'ton Township 

Born March 4, 18115. Knl. June 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. F, 350th Inf. 8Sth Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; to Camp Upton. Sailed on 
Delta August 11; landed London August 25. 
To Cherbourg September 1; to Semur; to 
(_'liogey, October 4; to center sector Hautc- 
Alsace; to Toul sector November 7, on offen- 
sive when armistice was signed; to Gondre- 
court area until May 7. Sailed from St. Nazaire 
on U. S. S. Aeolus May IS), 1919; landed New- 
port News May 30. To Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out June 12, 1919. 



MABSH, I.ESTER WII.I.IAM 
Sioux Rapids 

Born May 17, 1896. Knl. April 30, 1917. Fire- 
man 2d-cl. on U. S. S. Virginia. Trained at 
G. L. N. T. S. ; served on hospital ship Solace; 
to U. S. S. Virginia. Also saw service in U. 
S. Army and is still in service in France. Re- 
leased from na\-al service February 5, 1918. 

MARTEN' EI.MER VT. 

Stonn Iiake 
Born February 10, 1886. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
2d Lieut. 140th Engrs. Trained at Camp 
Shelby; Camp Gordon; Camp Humphreys. Pro- 
moted from pvt. to 2d Lieut. Mustered out 
December 20, 1918. 



MASON, SIDNEY E. 
Truesdale 
Born November 22, 1892. Enl. February 25. 
1918. Pvt. Co. E, 351st Inf. 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge. Sailed from New York April 
25. on English transport Corovia; landed Liver- 
pool May 7. To Southampton; to Le Havre 
May 15; landed Le Havre May 17. Trained 
at different camps in France before going into 
active service; entered trenches July 18, in 
trenches for 28 days at Argonne Forest; was 
wounded and sent to hospital. Returned to 
C. S. on the U. S. S. Huron; landed Newport 
News January 18, 1919. Mustered out Feb- 
ruary 8, 1919. 



MARTEN, ROI.AND H. 

Storm Iiake 
Born November 4, 1896. Enl. July 18, 1918. 
Musician Ist-cl. Trained at G. L. N. T. S., 
with Third Regimental Band. Mustered out 
March 25, 1919. 

MARTZ, RAYMOND A. 
Storm Iiake 

Born February 8, 1899. Enl. April 16, 1917. 
Pvt. Co. M, 168th Regt. 42d Div. Trained; 
Company originated at Cherokee, Iowa; later 
trained at State Fair Grounds; Camp Mills. 
Sailed from New York on U. S. S. President 
Grant October IS; returned to port October 
28; sailed again on the Celtic IVovember 14; 
landed Liverpool. To Southampton; to Le 
Havre; to Rimacourt; to Langres; to Baccarat; 
in action February 22 on Lorraine front of 
Luneville sector; to Champagne July 3 to 18; to 
Chateau-Thierry July 22 to August 2; to Chau- 
mont; to Vaville; to St. Mlhiel September 12; 
wounded at 6;30 a. m. September 12 by machine 
gun bullet in knee; to Base Hosp. No. 23 at 
Vitol 8 days; to Base Hosp. No. 24 at Limoges 
to January 10; to Brest. Sailed on Leviathan; 
landed New York, April 2. To Camp Upton; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out April 22, 1919. 



MATSON, HENBIK I.. 

Nokom.is Township 

Born February 7, 1907. Enl. September 15, 

1918. Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista 

<-'onege. Storm Lake. Iowa. Mustered out 

December 13, 1918. 



MATTEI.IN, CI.ARENCE R. 
Poland Township 
Born December 10, 1894. Enl. February 24, 
1918. Pvt. Co. L, 131st Inf. 33d Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge from February 24 to April 
1; to Camp Logan until May 10. Sailed from 
New York May 22 on Leviathan; landed Brest 
May 30. Moved to British sector June 5 to 
August 24, participating in Chippily Ridge 
August 8; to Verdun sector August 28; in 
batle of Verdun September 26; w'ounded by 
machine-gun bullet in right i\nee on morning 
of September 26; to Base Hosp. No. 25 until 
November 7; to Base Hosp. No. 69 until Feb- 
ruar.v 5; to St. Nazaire. Sailed February 5 
on Kroonland; landed Newport News Feb- 
ruary 18. Was at Old Soldiers' Home at 
Hampton, Virginia until March 7; started to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out May 10, 1919. 



152 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



MATZDORFF, 'WAI.TEB 
EUe Township 

Born November 4, 1895. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 214th Engrs. 14th Div. Trained 
at Camp Forrest; Camp Custer. Mustered 
out February 7, 1919. 



MESSKER, JESSE 

Rembrandt 

Born January 9, ISHC. Knl. Augu.st 29. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. F, 20th Inf. 10th Div. Trained at 
Camp Funston to December 17; to Nitro, West 
Virginia, for guard duty until May 18, 1919. 
Mustered out May 14, 1919. 



IHATZDORFF, WII.I.IAM J. 
Brooke Township 

Born April 4, 1895. Bnl. July 29, 1918. Pvt. 
Supp. Co. 325th Inf. 82d Div. Trained at Camp 
Dodge four weeks; to Camp Gordon one week; 
to Camp Upton. Sailed on S. S. Kyber April 
24; landed Liverpool May 6. Crossed Channel 
to Le Havre May 17. To Toul; to Mananville; 
to Willeman; to Mortincourt; to Nancy; at 
Argonne Forest 28 days, when armistice was 
signed: stationed at Damery four months; to 
Bordeaux. Sailed on U. S. S. Alaskan; landed 
Hoboken. To Camp Upton; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out June 8, 1919. 



MEINKING, EDVTARD C. 

Brooke Township 
Born April 3, 1895. Enl. June 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Engrs. and Military Police. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; to Camp Mills; to Quebec. 
Embarked August 17 on Des Mothenre; landed 
Liverpool September 2. To Le Havre. To 
Semur three weeks; to Argonne-Meuse sector 
in October, until armistice was signed: to Bar- 
sur-Rule November 27 until March 24, 1919; 
to Coblenz; remained at Coblenz until June 2; 
to Brest June 29. Sailed on U. S. S. Lewis- 
ville June 29; landed New York July 7, 1919. 
Mustered out at Camp Dodge July 14, 1919. 



MAYER, ERNEST WII.I.IAM 

Sioux Rapids 

Born April 22, 18S3. ICnl. August 10, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, 70th Engrs. 35th Div. Trained at 
Ft. Douglas; Camp Humphreys; to Camp Up- 
ton. At embarkation camp when armistice was 
signed. Mustered out January 8, 1919. After 
being mustered out January 8, 1919, he crossed 
Atlantic on a cargo of wheat as a sailor ex- 
pecting to go to Belgium, but the vessel's 
course was changed and he was landed at 
Rotterdam. The wheat was loaded on German 
scowboats and taken up the Rhine into Ger- 
many. 

MAY, FRANK G. 
Storm Iiake 

Born May 31, 1S9!). Knl. October 11, 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista Col- 
lege, Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered out Decem- 
ber 11, 1918. 



MAYS, OSCAR 
Sioux Rapids 

Born February 11, 190(1. Enl. April 20, 1917. 
Fireman, U. S. Navy. Trained at G. L. N. T. 
S.: at Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N. H.: at 
Norfolk, Va. ; boarded transport President 
Grant at New York July 29, on ship 13 months 
and 22 days, completing six trips to Brest and 
return; confined to hospital from September 18, 
1918. to Mnrch 14, 1919; on Bay Ridge re- 
ceiving ship after March 14 until discharged. 
Mustered out September 22, 1919. 



MERNIN, ECVTARD J. 
Providence Township 

Born March 21, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt.; later promoted 
to post-office clerk. Trained at Camp Gordon. 
Mustered out January 9, 1919. 



MERRY, BI.ANCHE ADEII, (Nurse) 
Sioux Rapids 

Born August 22, 1895. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Nurse in Red Cross Nurse Corps. Finished 
training course at Chicago Civilian Hospital; 
stationed at Ft. Riley in operating room. 
Mustered out October 1, 1919. 



MERRY, ROSCOE CECII. 

Sioux Rapids 
Born December 24, 1898. Enl. June 1, 1917. 
Sgt. Co. E, 107th Ammunition Train, 32d Div. 
Trained at Camp Merritt. Sailed from New 
York February 1 on H. M. S. Orduna; joined 
convoy at Halifax; Co. E was to sail on Tus- 
cania, but orders were changed, and when off 
coast of Ireland learned that the Tuscania had 
been sunk; landed Liverpool February 17. To 
Le Havre February 22. To Guear February 25; 
to Camp Quicqidon; to Belfort June 12; to 
Vouthiermont; to Retzwiller. Alsace, July 24; 
to Chateau-Thierry July 31; went into action at 
Chateau-Thierry July 31 with 32d Div.; to 
Vic-sur-Aisne near Soissons August 20; crossed 
Aisne river August 28. here 32d Division fought 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



153 



baftle in connection with loth French Army, 
being the only American troops on this particu- 
lar front; in battle of Guvigney Plateau; to Ar- 
gonne Forest and the Meuse. Mustered out 
June 1, 1919. 



Le Havre Sept. 30. Stationed at Colemby Le- 
belle with American 1st Air Depot: boinbed by 
German aviators on December 5, being our 
f.rst taste of war; many raids but no casual- 
ties. Mustered out May 29, 1919. 



MESECK, ARTHUR K. 

Grant Township 
Born February 14, 1897. Enl. September 6, 
1918. Pvt. 58th Co. 163d D. B. Trained at 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out January 27, 1919. 



laEYER, 1.1:0 
Tmesdale 

Born April 9. 1893. Enl. June 2fi, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. E, 350th Inf. 88th Div. Trained at Camp 
Dodge one month: at Camp Upton; trans, to 
port of embarkation. Sailed from New York 
on Delta August 11: landed New London, Eng. 
To Camp Rimmsey; sailed across Channel 
August 29 to Cherbourg. Trained at Semur 
one month; to Belfort; to Boschello near front, 
23 days on patrol dut>'; to Toul sector; to 
Sanzy; to Commercy; to MuUemont for maneu- 
ver work; to Prov. Hosp. No. 1 on acount of 
influenza and typhoid fever three months, had 
operation for mastoid affection; to Base Hosp. 
No. 79; to Evac Hosp. No. 31: to Deson June 
5. Sailed as casual on U. S. S. Leviathan 
June 5; landed Hoboken June 12. To Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 19, 1919. 



MEYER, ORA 'WH.I.IAM 
Storm Iiake 

Born August 3, 189.5. Enl. September 20. 
1917. Pvt. Co. B, 103d Regt. 26th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge to October, 1917; to Camp 
Cody, trans, to 133d Inf. 34th Div; to Camp 
Merritt. Sailed to Liverpool, June 22. To Le 
Havre. Transferred to 26th Div. at Chateau- 
Thierry; to St. Mihiel for first participation in 
line September 12; to Royalla, which town was 
taken September 26; to Verdun October 15 to 
November 11; slightly wounded, to Hosp. at 
Mesver for two weeks; to St. Aignan in Casual 
Co. 483. Sailed from St. Nazaire February 1; 
landed Hoboken February 14. To Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out February 25. 1919. 



MEYERS, TVARREN E. 
Truesdale 

Born July 24, 1891. Enl. December 15, 1917. 
Corp. 21st Prov. Ord. Depot Co., Advance 
Amniun. Depot No. 4, Ordnance Dept. Trained 
at Camp Gordon: Camp Hancock. Landed 
overseas June S, 1918. witii the 21st Prov. Oi-d. 
Depot Co., and was assigned to duty at once 
at Advance Ammunition Depot No. 4, from 
which place, during most of his time he did 
railway ammunition transportation; to the 
front lines during the battle of the Marne. the 
St. Mihiel offensive, and the Argonne-Meuse 
offensive; was in the bat.tle of Chateau-Thierry 
and helped to turn back the Germans on July 
21. Mustered out at Camp Taylor July 24, 
1919. 

MICKEI.SON, ANDREW R. 
Iiinn Grove 

Born December 12. 1893. Enl. September 20, 
1918. Pvt. Co. 2, S. A. T. C. Trained at Uni- 
versity of Minnesota; studied civil engineer- 
ing. Mustered out December 12, 1918 



MICKEI.SON, CARI. EDWIN 
Rembrandt 

Born March, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
10th Bn. 4th Replm. Regt. Inf. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Mustered out December 21, 
1918. 

MIKEI.SON, ROY AARON 

Alta 

Born March 19, 1901. Enl. April 24, 1917, 
Musician 2d cl. on U. S. S. Minnesota. Trained 
at G. L. N. T. S.; sailed from Philadelphia on 
U. S. S. Minnesota March 18, 1918; landed 
Brest March 29, 1918. To New York; to Phila- 
delphia; to Brest; to Rhode Island. Va.; to 
Brest; to Hampton Roads, Va.; to Philadelphia 
Navy Yard: to G. L. N. T. S. Promoted from 
app. seaman to seaman 2d-cl. to musician 2d- 
cl. Mustered out August 11, 1919. 



MEYERS, HARRY J. 

Truesdale 
Born December 9, 1888. Enl. July 28, 1917. 
Cook Ist-cl. Aero Squadron, Aviation Corps. 
Trained at Kelly Field. Sailed from Hobo- 
ken September 11 by way of Halifax; landed 



Liverpool September 



To Southampton; to 



MIKKEI.SON, THORWAI.D 

Newell 

Born May 18, 1891, Enl. July 24, 1918. 

Pvt. Co. F. 313th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 

Camp Gordon. Sailed from New York August 

28; landed Brest September 12. To St. George; 





James A. Miles 
Storm Lake 



Edward Miller 
Maple Valley Towiishi; 



Elmer K. Miller 
Storm Lake 



Harold F. Miller 
Grant Townshij) 




IluRll Donald Miller 
Alta 



Paul Miller 
Storm Lake 



Philip Miller 
Storm Lake 



Thomas P. Miller 
Storm Lak-e 




Bostey S, Mills 
Storm Lake 



John H. Mills and wife 

Storm Lake 

Mr. Mills won his bride 

while in English Camp. 



Cliarles O. Milton 
Storm Lake 



Otto J. Minden 
Newell 







/ 



Frank Theodore Mohror Torwald C. Molgaard 

Brooke Township Alta 



Earl Wesley Moore 
Storm Lake 



Howard K. Morgan 
Storm Lake 




lje\ I M. Munis 
Brooke Township 



Harry J. Myers 
Washington Township 



Leslie (>. Myiis 
Washington Township 



Wa\Ttf Aaron iVI,\'rr> 
Storin Lake 




Frank McBride 
Coon Township 



George K. McCollough 
Storm Lake 



Archie W. McDanel 
Barnes Township 



Lee Howard McFarline 
Newell 



^:)"^ 



HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA VISTA COUNTY 



to Verdun front Xoveniber 1 for ten days; 
on the advance 6 days in open warfare; after 
armistice stayed in Verdun or near Verdun 
until February 12; was fallen to hospital with 
influenza and pneumonia, Rimacourt: to Bor- 
deaux; to Brest. Sailed May 5 on S. S. Von 
Steuben: landed New York May 13. 191(1. 
Mustered out May 24, 1919. 



X. T. S. ; seaman 2d-cl. with 7th Regt. July 2 to 
September 30. 191S: at Dayton. Ohio. Septem- 
ber 30 to January 1. 1919; at Detroit. Micliigan. 
from January 1 to January 25. At Great Lakes 
Station acted as Instructor in Physics at 
Radio School: at Dayton, Ohio, acted at Asst. 
Inspector of Ordnance. Mustered out at De- 
troit. Michigan. January 5, 1919. 



ItlELES, JAIVIES A. 

Storm Jiake 
Born June 6, 1895. Enl. February 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. H, 129th Inf., 33d Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge six weeks; to Camp Logan three 
weeks. Sailed from New York May 10 
on U. S. S. President Lincoln; landed 
Brest May 23. To Ault; to Oisemont 
in Eu training sector; June 21 to front 
lines: to Villers; to Vreateuniax in Amiens 
sector with Australians to right of Albert 
six days in lines; to Round Woods; to Kaily- 
Moil Woods; to Toul sector; to Verdun sector 
on September 5, in line 19 days; September 26 
to Meuse-Argonne; October 8 in attack with 
French east of Meuse; to St. Mihiel front on 
October 23 until November 11; to Fresnes; to 
Ettlebruck. Luxembiirg; to Trier. Germany: 
at Trier four weeks; to Luxemburg: to Brest. 
Sailed May 15 on U. S. S. Leviathan; landed 
Hoboken May 22. To Camp Merritt; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 2, 1919. 

MII.I.I:R, EDWARD 

Maple Valley Township 
Born February 13, 1895. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Sgt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon three months; to Camp Wheeler 
for two months; to Camp Dodge. Promoted 
from pvt. to sgt. Mustered out December 21, 
1918. 

MrLiiER, ei.mi:b X. 
storm Iiake 

Born January 27. 1890. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. M, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from 
New York September 1; landed Brest. To Bor- 
deaux; to Le Havre; to St. Nazaire. Went 
into action October 1 in Verdun sector; 
wounded November 5; in Base Hosp. No. 101 at 
St. Nazaire. Sailed January 17 on the interned 
German ship Susquehanna: landed Newport 
News February 2. Mustered out February 21, 
1919. 

TaiLJiSit, haboi;d f. 

Grant Township 

Born January 12, 1892, Enl. June 27, 1918. 
Instructor in physics at radio school; acted as 
Asst. Inspector of Ordnance. Trained at G. L. 



MII.I.ER, HUGH DONAI.D 

Alta 
Born July 23, 1895. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Mach. Gunners. 
Trained at Camp Gordon. Mustered out Jan- 
uary 9, 1919, at Camp Dodge. 

MII.I.ER, FAUI. F. 

Storm Iiake 

Born September 19. 1889. Enl. July 11. 1917. 
Corp. Ambulance Co. No. 7, Med. Dept.. 3d 
Sanitary Train, 3d (Regular) Div. Trained at 
Ft. Clark. Sailed from Hoboken on March 22 
on U. S. tramp steamship Powhatan; the ship 
was attacked by a fleet of German submarines 
in the Bay of Biscay. 25 miles from I!"rench 
coast, escaped harm but two of the submarines 
were sunk by the destroyers which convoyed 
us; landed Bordeaux April 7. At Chateau-Vil- 
lain until May 30; left for the front to check 
the onslaught at the Marne river; in battle of 
Aisne-Marne June 1 to 5; was in Second Battle 
of the Marne July 15 to 18; twenty men volun- 
teered for work in front lines in the Belleau 
Woods with the Marines of the Second Di\'.. 
two were killed, 15 wounded and the rest of 
them badly gassed; was in the Third Battle 
of the Marne froni July 18 to August 6, in 
which the Germans were driven from the 
Marne river up to and across the Vesle river, 
all during this time he was driving an am- 
bulance over roads that were constantly undei" 
shell fire; was in St. Mihiel drive from Sep- 
tember 12 to 16; in Meuse-Argonne drive from 
September 30 to October 31, and was in action 
until the armistice was signed: severely gassed 
in Meuse-Argonne battle by a gas-shell which 
gassed 20 men in the kitchen company: after 
the armistice the division was sent to Ger- 
many as part of the Army of Occupation: 
was in Welling and Browhl; to Brest. Sailed 
on Otsego August 15; landed New Y'ork August 
28. To Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. Mus- 
tered out September 6, 1919. 

niii.i.i:R, phuip 
storm Iiake 

Born September 11, 1893. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. M, 316th Regt., 29th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; to Camp Merritt. Sailed 
August 29; landed Brest. To St. George for two 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



157 



weeks; to Sevilly for two weeks; went into 
action October 21); wounded in Argonne "Woods 
November 6; to Base Hosp. No. 14 at Nevers; 
to Hippee; to Chambercourt; to Touges; to 
St. Nazaire. Sailed for U. S. May 18; landed 
Philadelphia May 29. To Camp Di.\; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 8, 1919. 



I«II.I.I:R, THOMAS F. 
Storm Iiake 

Born September 26. 1S9S. Enl. October 4. 
1918. Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Dubuque 
College, Dubuque, Iowa; to Inf. at Camp Pike. 
Mustered out December 21, 1918. 



KII.I.S, BOSTEV S. 
Storm Iiake 

Born October 29, 1899. Knl. March 22. 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. D, 5th Ammunition Train, Art. 
Trained at Camp Logan one month; to Camp 
Upton. Sailed from Hoboken M-ay 27; landed 
Liverpool June 7. To Le Havre. To La 
Valtohn; to Verele three weeks; to St. Die sec- 
tor until August 25; to St. Mihiel 3 months; 
to Luxemburg with Army of Occupation until 
July 7, 1919; to Brest. Sailed for U. S. July 
13 on Agamemnon; landed Hoboken July 21. 
To Camp Merritt: to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out July 29, 1919. 



MII.I.S, jOHir s. 

storm Iiake 
Born May 20. 1889. Enl. September 20, 1917. 
Pvt. Co. I, 347th Inf. 87th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge September 20 to November 19 
with Hdqrs. 88th Div.; to Camp Pike assigned 
to Co. I, 347th Inf; to Camp Merritt. Sailed 
overseas; landed London July 2. To Camp 
Hosp. No. 40 at Liverpool; to rest camp with 
Liverpool Casual Co. 1007 from December 13 to 
28; with third convoy center company from 
December 28 to January 19. Sent to Camp 
Dodge for discharge. Mustered out January 27. 
1919. 

MHiTON, CKAIM.es O. 
Storm Iiake 

Born August 15, 1894. Enl. August 15, 1917. 
Pvt. 212th Co. M. P. Trained: was with H. 
Troop 1st South Dakota, then trans, to Co. 
M, 136th Inf. until November 28, 1917; to Co. 
B, 127th M. a Bn. December 24; to 212th Co. 
M. P. Sailed from New York October 13, 

1918. Arrived in U. S. on return June 26, 

1919. Mustered out at Camp Dix June 28, 
1919. Re-enlisted the same day for term of 
one year in Aviation Service, ordered to Ft. 
Omaha. 



MINSEN, OTTO 3. 
Newell 

Born August 30, 1889. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. 79th Div. in Infantry Organization. 
\\'ounded in Argonne — lost leg; still in hos- 
pital. 

MIX, IRI. T>. 

Alta 
Born September 23, 1894. Enl. June 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 313th Engrs., 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge for six weeks; to Camp Mills. 
Sailed August 16; sailed on Plassy; landed 
Le Havre. To Haute-Alsace sector, after 
armistice was signed; to Pigny Siriusnelle; to 
St. Mihiel; to De Mange; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed May 26 on Madowasha; landed June 
5 at New York. To Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out June 16, 1919. 



MOHROR, FRANK THEODORE 

Brooke Tovrnship 
Born February 8, 1894. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, 212th Engrs. 12th Div. Trained 
at Camp Forrest; to Camp Devens. Mustered 
out February 8, 1919. 



MOI.GAARD, TORWAIiD C. 

Alta 

Born February 5. 1S93. Enl. May 2S, 191.S. 
Pvt. Batt. 3, 338th F. A. Trained at Camp 
Dodge five months; to Camp Cody one and 
one-half months. Mustered out December 10, 
1918. 

MOORE, EARIi WESIiEY 
Storm Iiake 

Born November :!, ISI19. Enl. July 2, 1917. 
Pvt. Prisoner of War Escort Company No. 
258, previously a pvt. in Co. M, 2nd Iowa N. G. 
34th Div. Trained at Camp Hyatt, after train- 
ing at Cherokee, Iowa; to Camp Cody from 
August 15 to January 12. 1918; in liospital with 
pneumonia January 12 to March 1; home on 
30-day furlough; to Camp Merritt; embarked 
on English ship Mentor June 27; landed Liver- 
pool July 11. To hospital with influenza and 
typhoid fever two months; to Paighton Devon 
one month; to Cherbourg. Sent back to Eng- 
land. October 30, started for France; at Le 
Mans November 11; to Rambercourt guarding 
German prisoners until latter part of Septem- 
ber. 1919; to hospital with throat trouble. 
Landed New York October 30, 1919. To Camp 
Merritt; to Ft. Sheridan for treatment. (Still 
in service as this record was compiled.) 




James P. McGarry 
Scott Township 



George William McGinn Ai clubalil l'\ M< (iret- vy Lawrencf* Edward Ak-K-nria 
Storm Lake Sioux Rapids Storm Lake 




Neil McKenna 
Storm Lake 



Clarence McPherson 
Storm Lake 



Royden C McRae 
Providence Township 



Charles W. Nat tress 
Storm Lake 




William F. Neavin 
Storm Lake 



Robert G. Neitzel 
Coon Township 



Oscar W. Nelsen 
Washington Township 



Albert Nelson 
Elk Township 




.\ii---i I I '. Xelson 
Storm Lake 



Aii..TL i\ Neisnii 

I'^Ik Township 



Fred A. Nelson 
Rembrandt 



Fritz A. T. Nelson 
Maple Valley Township 




Morris Nelson 
Alta 



Nels O. Nelson 
Marathon 



Seth Alexander Nelson 
Rembrandt 



Carl Ness 
Brooke Township 




Henry M. Ness 
Brooke Township 



Burt Newton 
Newell 



Claude C. Nichols 
Storm Lake 



Vnar I^. Nichols 
Storm Lake 



i6o 



HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA MSTA COUNTY 



MORQAIT, CHABI,ES E. 
Poland Township 

Born October 8. 18H5. Enl. July 26, 1918. 
Pvt. in 163d D. B. Trained at Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out March 7, 1919. 



MUEIiIiEB, AUGUST W. 
Marathon 

Born August 3ii. 1SS\. Enl. April 27. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 338th Signal Corps. 88th Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge. Mustered out Decem- 
ber 26, 1918. 



MOBGAM', HOWARD E. 
Storm Iiake 

Born June 6. 1895. Enl. December 9, 1917. 
Corp. 39th Balloon Co. attached to 14th F. A. 
Trained at Ft. Logan; to Camp MacArthur; to 
Ft. Sill. Mustered out May 26. 1919. 



IKORBIS, IiEVI M. 
Brooke Township 

Born April 24, 1888. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Hdqrs. Detachment Inf. 1st Replm. Dept. 
Trained at Camp Gordon; Camp Merritt. Sailed 
from New York August 29; landed Brest Sep- 
tember 12. To St. George to Co. K, 163d Regt. 
41st Div.; to Hdqrs. Co. Inf. Candidate school 
at La Vallibonne Ain; to Hdqrs. Detachment; 
to 1st. Replm. Depot at St. Aignan; to Mar- 
seilles June 25. Sailed June 29 on S. S. Roura, 
stopped at Oran, Algiers, for repairs and sup- 
plies from Jul.v 1 to July 5; landed New York 
July 17. To Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out July 26, 1919. 



MOTT, FBANK I.ESI.IE 

Truesdale 

Born December 11, 1887. Enl. July 24, 1918. 



Corp Co. C, 4th Replm. Inf. 
Gordon. 



Trained at Camp 



MUDGE, EABI. C. 
Hayes Township 

Born May 8. 1892. Enl. August 29, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. 17, 164th Regt. 10th Div. 
Trained at Camp Funston. Mustered out Jan- 
uary 29, 1919. 



MUDGE, GUY G. 

Hayes Township 

Born June 25, 1894. Enl. June 25, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. M, 163d Regt. 41st Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon: to Camp Merritt. Sailed August 30 
on U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed Brest September 
12. To St. George; to Montechard; to St. 
Aignan; to Bordeaux. Landed New York July 
7. To Camp Merritt; to Gamp Dodge. 
Mustered out July 15. 1919. 



MYEBS, HABBY J. 
Washington Township 

Born December 9, 1888. Enl. July 28, 1918. 
Sgt. 5th Co. 89th Aero Squadron. Air Serv- 
ice. Trained at Ft. Logan two weeks; at Kelly 
Field; to Mitchell Field. Sailed October 11 on 
Arordunn; landed Liverpool. To Southamp- 
ton; to Le Havre. To Columbey-le-Belle; 
with 1st Air Depot from October 27 to Febru- 
ary 5; to Chattollin-sur-Seine with 2d Corps 
Aeronautical School to January 12, 1919. To 
St. Nazaire for embarkation. Sailed March 14, 
on Manchuria; landed New York March 27. 
To Camp Mills; taken sick with pneumonia 
January 2 and sent to Base Hosp. No. 18 tor 
three weeks, operated on January 28: at Base 
Hosp. No. 66 two months; was evacuated to 
Base Hosp. No. 17, there until June 26, 1919; 
taken to Base Hosp. No. 15 July 5; released 
from Base No. 15, August 7. after operation 
for appendicitis. Mustered out May 29, 1919, 

MYEBS, I.ESI.IE O. 
Washlnjrton Township 
Born September 23, 1896. Enl. January 31, 
1918. Pvt. 6th Co. 3d Regt. Air Service. 
Trained at Jefferson Barracks; to Camp Han- 
cock for two montlis; to Camj) (xreene three 
months. Sailed from New York June 23 on 
Patria; landed Brest July 5. To an air serv- 
ice camp at Romesantin for ten months, on 
convoy work; to Brest; to St. Nazaire; to 
Bordeaux; to Brest. Sailed for U. S. June 
19 on U. S. S. Charleston: landed June 29 at 
New York. To Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
July 12, 1919. 

ItlYEBS, WAYNE AABOIT 
Storm Iiake 

Born October 14, 1893. Enl. December 5, 

1917. Seaman 2d cl. 1st Co. 1st Regt. 1st Div. 
Trained at Municipal Pier from January 27, 

1918, to December 18, 1918. Mustered out 
December 18, 1918. 

McABTHUB lOABSHAI.!. E. 
Storm I>ake 

Born May 16, 1899. Enl. October 12. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. F, 2d Bn. Aviation Section, S. A. T. C. 
Trained at University of Chicago. Mustered 
out December 12, 1918. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



i6i 



McBBIDE, FRANK 
Coon Townslilp 
Born October 16, 1892. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. G, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon until August 26, 1918. Sailed 
from Hoboken on U. S. S. Plattsburg, Septein- 
ber 1; landed Brest September 13, 1918. To 
St. Georges until September 30: to Verdun 
sector, stationed at Issencourt until October 
25; to Meuse sector of Verdun front October 
28; in offensive from October 28 to November 
11; wounded by high-explosive shell in riglit 
jaw and right leg November 3, 1918: to hosp. 
at Verdun and then to Portiers from Novem- 
ber 6 until January 18, 1919: returned to co. 
at Issencourt: to Heipps and hiked to Tram- 
pot: to Vallet April 1; to St. Nazaire. Sailed 
May 16 on U. S. S. Texan; landed Philadelphia 
May 29. To Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out June 8, 1919. 



McCONXEY HOMER B. 

Scott Township 
Born February 4, 1895. Enl. June 4, 1917. 
Pvt. with Med. Dept. 109th Engrs. 34th Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge one year; to Camp 
Dix. Sailed from New York September 17, on 
Cretic; landed Liverpool October 1. To Win- 
chester; crossed Channel to Cherbourg. To 
Mesves; to Bulcy four months; to St. Amiens 
three and one-half months; to Le Mans one 
month; to Precigne two weel^s; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed on June 17 on Pastoria; landed New 
York June 26. To Camp Mills; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out July 2, 1919. 



MCCUI.I.OUGK, GEORGE K. 
Storm Ziake 

Born June 26, 1SS2. Enl. May 14. 1917. 
Major Maintenance and Reconstruction of 
Trenches, and Supervision of Railroad Build- 
ing and Highway Imp^o^■ement. Comissioned 
1st Lieut, after training at Ft. Snelling; to 
Ft. Leavenworth until August 27; to Camp 
Dodge where he was with Co. B, 313th Engrs. 
88th Div. Promoted to Captain August 15. 
1917. Temporary Division Ordnance (TitTicer at 
Camp Dodge until September 22, 1917; pro- 
moted to rank of Major February 25, 1919. 
wliile in France. August 5. 191X. to Camp 
Mills. Sailed from New York on British ship 
Plassy; landed Liverpool August 28. To Knot- 
ty Ash; to Southampton; crossed Channel on 
U. S. S. Yale; landed Le Havre September 2. 
To Les Laumes; to Cote d'Or; to Hericourt 
with 1st Bn. of which Co. B was a part; 
ordered to Chavanne. arrived September 19; 
to ElViach, Alsace, October 7, to be in charge 
of maintenance and reconstruction of 



trenches of 350th Inf.; at Pagne-de-Barrlne 
when armistice was signed; after armistice co. 
rebuilt railroad from Paris to Metz, later en- 
gaged on highway work. Sailed from St. Na- 
zaire May 25 on U. S. S. Madawska; landed 
New York June 6. To Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out after 26 months of service, July 2, 1919. 



UcDANEIt, ARCHIE W. 

Barnes Township 
Born March 9, 1892. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. B, 214th Engrs. 14th Div. 
Trained at Camp Forrest; Camp Custer. Mus- 
tered out February 7, 1919. 



McFARI.IM'E, I.EE HOWARD 

Newell 

Born April 15, 1894. Enl. June 10, 1918. 

Landsman machinist's mate, Ist-cl. Co, H, 

15th Rest. Trained at G. L. N. T, S., at 

main station. Mustered out January 17, 1919. 



McGARRY, JAMES P. 
Scott To'wnship 

Born April 22, 1897. Enl. September 5, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. F, 88th Inf. 19th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out March 26, 1919. 



McGinn, george wii.i.iam 

storm Iiake 

Born August 24, 1893. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained 
at Camp Gordon. Mustered out January 28, 
1919. 

McGREVY, ARCHIBALD F. 
Sioux Rapids 

Born September 17. INSn. Knl. July S. 1917. 
2d Lieut. Vet. Corps at Camp Greeleaf; Depot 
Quarter Master, Chicago. Called into service 
from Marathon; reported for duty at Camp 
Greenleaf — this was a large training camp 
for Veterinary, Dental and Medical Officers; 
the course was 90 days, but the need for offl- 
cera in Vet. Corps was so urgent that all 
men with any previous experience were picked 
and put through in 60 days. Having been a 
member of the N. G. and also experienced as 
a veterinarian with 1st Illinois Art. in 1916. 
he was ordered to the Depot Quarter at Chi- 
cago, on duty there as inspector and drill 
instructor for 60 days; to Camp Lewis as Asst. 
Camp Vet. Meat and Dairy Insp. Mustered 
out July 21, 1919. 



1 62 



HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA MSTA COUNTY 



McKEE, HABOIiD E. 

Storm Iiake 
Born March 2, 1900. Enl. July 22, 1918. 
Fireman Ist-cl. on U. S. S. Supply. Trained 
at G. L.. N. T. S., Ft. Monroe, ami on U. K. 
S. Supply. 

McKEE, JOHN C. 
Storm Iiake 

Born September :;9, 1S91. Enl. May 9, 191S. 
Corp. Co. F, Ordnance Supply School. Trained 
at Jefferson Barracks; to Camp Hancock; to 
Camp Merritt. Sailed with 7th H. M. O. R. S. 
October 4; landed Brest October 15. Trained at 
An^oulome and Souhesmes with the 1st Army. 
Sailed from St. Nazaire January 10 on Man- 
churia; landed Hoboken. To Camp Merritt; to 
Camp Dlx; to Camp Grant. Mustered out 
February H, 1919. 



ham; Dorset — all in England. Sailed from 
New York August 14; landed Liyerpool August 
28. Two months in training camps in Eng- 
land; crossed Channel October 31 to Le Havre. 
To reserve lines November 4; trained at Lan- 
gres and Haute-Marne. Promoted to pvt. Ist- 
cl. Training consisted in machine gunnery, six 
pounders, tank driving, and regular infantry 
drill. Sailed for Hoboken from Marseilles by 
way of Gibraltar March 22. 1919. Mustered 
out April 7, 1919. 



MacRUNNEIiS, RAI.FH A. 

Storm liake 

Enl. May 20, 1918. Sailed overseas June 

30 with A. E. F. with Engrs. in France; in 

Russia with Engrs. from April 17, 1919. to 

July 28, 1919. Landed U. S. August 17, 1919. 



McKENNA, I.AWBENCE EDWARD 
Providence Township 
Born September 11, 1897. Enl. August 7, 
1918. Pvt. Co. D, 9th Separate Bn. U. S. 
Marines. Trained at Paris Island. Sailed from 
New York on the Henderson; landed Brest 
November 1. To Tours; to St. Nazaire for 
guard duty until June. 1919. Sailed on U. S. 
S. Roanoke; landed Charleston. Mustered out 
June 21, 1919. 

McKEE, MARY I.. 
Storm Iiake 

Born May 3, 1893. Enl. July 17, 1918. 
Signal Service under civil service at Washing- 
ton, D. C. Mustered out December 20, 1918. 

McKENNA, NEHi 
Storm Iiake 

Born March 28, 1893. Enl. December 14. 
1917. Machinist Ist-cl. Squadron 6; also 
Aerial Gunner. Trained at U. S. N. Training 
Station; G. L. N. T. S.; and Naval Air Station. 
Mustered out March 29, 1919. 

Mcpherson, ciiAbence 

Stomx Iiake 
Born March 12, 1893. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Camp Hdqrs. Camp Gordon. Trained 
at Camp Gordon. 

McRAE, ROYDEN C. 

Providence Tcwnship 
Born June 28, 1886. Enl. May 7, 1918. 
Machine Gunner, Co. A, 303d Bn. 304th Brigade 
Tank Corps. Trained at Camp Worgret; "Ware- 



NATTRESS, CHARI.ES W. 
Storm Iiake 

Born February 26, 1893. Enl. November 
11, 1917. Ist-cl. Clerk Q. M. Navy. Trained: 
V. S. S. Gopher at Chicago; to Cleveland, Ohio; 
to S. S. Manchester on Great Lakes for nine 
\\'eeks: to Philadelphia Navy Yard for about 
five weeks; August 10 to U. S. S. Louisville; 
to Brest to Naval Base No. 7 for two weeks; 
to U. S. S. Narragansett: to Base No. 29, Car- 
diff, Wales; to U. S. S. Navy Collier; to U. 
S. S. Moldergaard September 20 to July, 1919; 
to Bay Ridge receiving station; on August 1 
to G. L. N. T. S. Mustered out August 20. 
1919. 

NEAVIN, WHiIiIAM T. 
Storm Iiake 

Born August 26, 1892. Enl. May 3. 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. A, 53d Regt. Trained at 
Columbus Barracks. Ohio, May 6 to 15; to 
Camp Dix until June 9. Landed Brest June 
18, 1918. To Seivres June 21, detailed to the 
R. R. Transportation at Seivres and surround- 
ing territory until May 6, 1919; injured in 
R. R. wreck May 7; in hospital at Pruniers 
May 21; to hosp. at Savenay June 1; to Hosp. 
Carrion. To Greenhuts Hosp. New York City. 
July 1 arrived at Ft. Snelling. Mustered out 
July 7, 1919. 

NEITZEIi, ROBERT G. 

Coon Township 
Born April 16, 1890. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. G. 315th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon until August 15. Sailed from 
Hoboken on U. S, S. Plattsburg September 
1; landed Brest September 13. To St. Georges 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



163 



and stationed there until September 30. To 
Verdun sector and stationed at Issencourt un- 
til October 25; to front in Meuse offensive; on 
Verdun front October 29 to November 11; 
wounded by" gas November 3; to Base Hosp. 
No. 88; to Angers to February 23; joined 
company at Issencourt and was stationed there 
until March 28; to Trampot; to Vallet until 
May 15. Sailed from St. Nazaire May 16 on 
U. S. S. Texan; landed Philadelphia May 29. 
To Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
June 10. 1919. 

NEIiSEN, ANDREW 
Newell 

Born December 7, 1887. Enl. June 15. 1918. 
1st Lieut. Coast Artillery. Trained at Officers" 
Training School. Ft. Scott and Ft. Monroe. 1st 
promotion to 2d Lieut; 2d promotion to 1st 
Lieut. Mustered out December 13. 1918. 



NEIiSEN, CHRIS K. 
Newell 

Born May 23. 1893. Knl. July 29. 1918. Pvt. 
Co. A. 313th Regt. 212th Div. Trained at Camp 
Forrest; Camp Devens. Mustered out January 
25, 1919. 

NEISEN, OSCAR W. 
Washington Township 
Born October 9, 1892. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Military Police Corps. Trained 
at Camp Gordon with 4th Replm. Regt.; to 
Camp Merritt. Sailed from Hoboken August 
29 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed Brest Sep- 
tember 13. To St. George for six weeks; 
to Anton Fruce four weeks; to Paris; trans- 
ferred to Military Police Corps, served until 
July 7; to Brest. Sailed for U. S. on U. S. S. 
Minnesota July 14; landed Norfolk July 28. 
To Camp Dodge. Mustered out August 2, 
1919. 

NEIiSON, AI.BERT 
Elk Township 

Born May 22, 1887. Enl. September 4, 1918. 
Pvt. in Med. Officers' Training Camp to Jan- 
uary 8, 1919. Trained at Ft. Riley. To Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out January 13, 1919. 



NEI.SON, AXBERT C. 
Storm liake 

Born March 7, 1891. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Corp. Co. I. Div. Bn. Trained at Camp Gordon; 
later served as instructor at Camp Wheeler. 
Mustered out December 16. 1918. 



NEI.SON, AI.BERT T. 
Elj£ Township 

Born January 22, 1889. Enl. February 24, 
1918. Pvt. Co. F, 1st Gas Regt. Trained at 
Camp Dodge one month; to Camp Grant one 
month; to Ft. Myer two months. Sailed from 
Hoiioken June 29. 191S. on President Grant; 
landed Brest July 13. Was near Chaumont for 
seven weeks; at St. Mihiel front two weeks; 
Argonne front until armistice; to Verdun one 
week; to Chaumont one month; to camp near 
Brest. Sailed January 24. 1918. on Celtic; 
landed Hoboken February 2. 1919. To Camp 
Mills; to Camp Kendrick; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out February 27, 1919. 



NEi;SON, FRED A. 

Rembrandt 
Born February 8, 1896. Enl. July 25, 1918. 
Sgt. in 29th Co. C. O. T. S. Trained at Camp 
Gordon in Co. D. 4th Replm. Regt.; transferred 
to above company. Mustered out November 
29. 1918. 

NEIiSON, FRITZ A. T. 

Maple Valley Township 

Born October 13, 1888. Enl. September 5. 

1918. Pvt. Machine Gun Co. 88th Inf. Trained 

at Camp Dodge seven months. Mustered out 

March 27. 1919. 



NEI.SON, MORRIS 

Alta 
Born October 17, 1886. Enl. February 25. 
1918. Pvt. Co. E. 349th Inf. 88th Div.; also 
Pvt. in Co. F, 140th Inf. 35th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; to Camp Mills. Sailed on the 
Shropshire from New York April 24; landed 
Liverpool. To Le Havre May 10. Service in 
Alsace. St. Mihiel, Verdun, and in the Argonne; 
in Alsace trenches one month; in Argonne 
drive the first five days; in Verdun sector three 
weeks; on way to Metz when armistice was 
signed; attached to the Scouts the latter part 
of the war. Sailed on the Nansemond April 16. 
1919; landed Newport News April 28. Mustered 
out at Camp Dodge May 7, 1919. 



NEI.SON, NEI.S O. 
Marathon 

Born May 29. 1889. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. D, 162d Regt. 41st Div; trans, to 162d 
Mach. Gun Co. Trained at Camp Gordon with 
Co. C, 4th Replm. Regt.; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed from New York on October 29; landed 
Liverpool November 9. To Winchester Novem- 




Gus H. Nielson 
Alta 



Louis Frederick Nielsen 
Sioux Rapids 



Mikl^el I'll] IS Xi.-ls.- 
Newell Township 



Nels Nielsen 
Storm Lake 




Niels Nielson 
Newell Township 



Niels K. Nielsen 
Elk Township 



Theodore Nielsen 
Elk Township 



Martin Nilsen 
Newell 




Walter James Oakman Georsre H. Oatman 

Alta Maple Valley Township 



Archie O'Donoghue 
Storm Lake 



J. H. O'Donoghue 
Storm Lake 




Carl i; ■ i III 
Fairfield Township 



Marins J. OLsen 
Providence Township 



Dliver Malvin Olsen 
Alta 



Thaddeus CUrton olsen 
Alta 




Arthur Li. ulson 
Newell 



Carl Alfred Olson 
Albert City 



Christ E. Olson 
Lee Township 



Harry P. Olson 

Newell 




J. Clifford Olson 
Newell 



Magnus Olson 
Scott Township 



Oscar J. Olson 
Barnes Township 



Victor B. Olson 
Barnes Township 



1 66 



HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA YISTA COUNTY 



ber 11; to Southampton; to Le Havre Novem- 
ber 12. To Centres one month; to St. Aignan 
with Co. D, 163d Regt. 41st Div.; trans, to 
162d M. G. Co. at Soignes; to Gen. Hdq. at 
Chaumont; to St. Aignan January 12; to Camp 
Pontanezen June 20 to September 21. Sailed 
from Brest with casual company on Powhatan 
September 25; landed Xew York October 4. 
To Camp Dodge. Mustered out October 13. 
1919. 



NEi;SON, SETH AI-EXANDER 
Rembrandt 
Born July 20, 1893. Knl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B. X. C. O. T. S. Trained at Camp 
Gordon, pvt. 10th Bn. 4th Replm. Regt.; tran.s. 
to Co. B. X. C. O. T. S.; to Camp Shelby Xo- 
vember 1; to Camp Dodge December 19. 
Mustered out December 30, 1918. 



NESS, CARI. 
Brooke Township 

Born March IG, 1895. Enl. September 20, 
1917. Pvt. Co. H, 18th Regt. 1st Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; at Camp Pike; at Camp Mer- 
ritt. Sailed from New York June 18; landed 
Liverpool June 29. To Winchester; to Le 
Havre. To Soissons July 19; joined 1st Div. 
here until July 24; in action in Soissons sector; 
to Toul for five days; to Saizerais sector until 
August 24; to St. Mihiel September 12; in 
Meuse-Argonne offensive October 1 to 9; 
wounded in action October 9, wounded in 
shoulder and joint; to Base Hosp. No. 35 six 
weeks; to Convalescent Camp F80 January 15; 
to La Bagoge six weeks; to Brest. Sailed 
April 1 on Rotterdam; landed New York April 
10. To Camp Mills; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out April 24, 1919. 



NESS, HENRY M. 
Brooke Township 

Born August 14, 1892. Enl. September 19. 
1918. Pvt. 26th Regt. Inf. 1st Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; to Camp Pike; to Camp Mer- 
ritt. Sailed from Camp Merritt June 19; landed 
Liverpool July 1. To Le Havre July 4. To 
Soissons. where he joined the 1st Div.; on 
July 19 was in the chief attack, here until 
July 23; to Ponta Mousson July 30 to August 
20; to St. Mihiel September 6 to 18; to Ver- 
dun area September 21 to 30; September 30 
to Argonne, in lines October 1, over the top 
October 4; wounded October 5, shrapnel in leg, 
bullet in hand; to Base Hosp. No. 36 Vetal; to 
Blois Base Hosp. 41-38; to Casual Camp; to 
Tours; guarded German prisoners; to Roche- 
fort; to Bordeaux. Sailed December 25 on King 



Der Xetherland; landed Xewport News January 
8. To Camp Lee; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out February 1, 1919. 



NETVTON, BURT 

Ne^well 
Born December 25, 1895. Enl. November 1, 
1917. Pvt. University School Dentistry, at 
Iowa State University; Co. No. 1, Greenleaf. 
Trained at Iowa State University and Camp 
Greenleaf; to Ft. Oglethorpe. Mustered out 
December 19, 1918. 



NICROIiS, CIiAUDE C. 

Storm Iiake 
Born October 12, 1899. Enl. April 7, 1917. 
Pvt. Co. M, 2d Iowa Inf. Discharged April 15, 
1917; re-enlisted March 15, 1918; discharged 
March 23, 1918, by reason of minor physical 
defects. 

NICHOI^S, FRANK 

Sioux Rapids 
Born June 2, 1891. Enl. June 19, 1917. Sgt. 
347th F. A. 91st Div. Trained at Ft. Logan 
until July 12; to Ft. Riley until August 28; to 
Camp Lewis, at Camp Lewis served as drill- 
master and as sgt., having charge of the 347th 
P. A. Infirmary. Sailed overseas. 



NICSOI.S, VEAR I,. 

Storm Ziake 
Born May 2, 1891. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. B. 316th Regt. 79th Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from New 
York on U. S. s. Plattsburg August 29; landed 
Brest. To St. George;' to Argonne Forest, in 
action October 20; captured by Germans No- 
vember 4; in German hosp. at Vertion. Bel- 
gium; November 18 to Base Hosp. Xo. 70 at 
Verdun; to St. Aignan until February 10; to 
Brest. Sailed on U. S. S. Plattsburg: landed 
Xew York March 8, 1919. To Camp Merritt; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out March 19. 1919. 



NIEI.SEN, HANS C. 
Storm Ziake 

Born January 20, 1889. Enl. September 20, 
1917. Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. B, 164th Regt. 41st Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge; to Camp Cody; to 
Camp Dix. Sailed; landed England. To Win- 
chester; to Bordeaux. To Coons; to Brest. 
Sailed February 8, 1919. Mustered out March 
10. 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA \ ISTA COUNTY 



1 6 



/ 



NTEIiSEN, JENS H. 
Wasbiug'tou Township 

Born February 9, 1894. Bnl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
January 9, 1919. 



NIEI.SEN, I.OUIS FREDERICK 
Sioux Rapids 

Born August 8, 1899. Enl. April 20. 1917. 
Seaman. Trained at G. L. N. T. S.; to I'orto- 
mouth, N. H. ; to Philadelphia. Promoted 
from app. seaman to seaman. Sailed from 
New York November 10, on U. S. S. ChicaKo; 
landed Bordeaux November 21. To Moutoh; to 
Pinbouef; to Guipavas; to Trigenier; to Paris; 
to Brest. During .stay in France v.as engaped 
in construction worl<. Landed New YovK No- 
vember 23, 1918. Mustered out January 14, 
1919. 

NIEIiSEN, MIKKEI. CHRIS 

Newell Township 
Born May 26, 1894. Enl. August 23. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. H, 43d Inf. Trained at Jefferson Bar- 
racks; at Camp Arthur; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed on Adriatic November 11; boat ordered 
back to port on November 12. To Camp M-ir- 
ritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out ]:)ecember 
19, 1918. 

NIEI.SEN, NEI.S 
Storm Ziake 
Born October 10, 1891. Enl. September 5, 
1917. Sgt. Co. A 350th Regt. 88th Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge; to Camp Upton. 
Sailed from New York on Delta August 11; 
landed London August 22. To Southampton; to 
Cherbourg. To Semur; to Lorraine front Sep- 
tember 22; to Argonne front October 10; to La- 
Valle-Bonne: to Le Mans December 20; to Brest 
February 2. Sailed on U. S. S. Peuple; landed 
New York February 22. To Camp Merritt; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out March 5, 1919. 



NIEI.SEN, NIEI.S K. 
Elk Township 

Born May 31, 1SS9. Enl. August 19. 1917. 
Mechanic. M. G. Co. 6th Regt. 5th Div. Trained 
at Ft. Logan one week; to Chiclvamauga Park 
eight months. Sailed from New York April 9 
on U. S. S. Covington; landed Brest April 22. 
Stationed at Nully two weeks; joined the 6th 
Inf. August 1 at Bois d' Arinont trenches; at 
St. Mihiel; to Donevre; to Reginey; at St. 
Martin; in Verdun sector October 4; to Mont- 
faucon; crossed Meuse November 5; in Army 



of Occupation at Trier, Germany; to Brest. 
Sailed on U. S. S. America July 13; landed 
Hoboken. To Camp Mills; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out July 29, 1919. 



NIEIiSEIT, THEODORE 
Elk Township 
Born May 15. 1892. Enl. January 18. 1918. 
Sgt. Co. F, 27th Inf. 28th Div. — organization 
later changed. Trained at Ft. McDowell; to 
Philippine Islands February 5; sailed Manila 
on U. S. Army Transport Logan; to Honolulu 
February 13; to Guam March 1; to Manilla; 
landed Blarch 8. Sailed for Siberia August 7 
on Transport Warren; landed Vladivostok 
August 15. Took trans-Siberian railway trip 
to Ragedonia to do railway duty guarding 
until August 22; to Svaggano by railway; hiked 
to Suuurai througli swamp-land; to Spasskoe 
two weeks; took Bolshevik lidqrs. at Uspanko 
June 9, 1919; into town June 12; hilled to 
Krieske for railroad duty, there three montlis; 
left Vladivostok October 7; landed Hongkong 
October 11; October 12 sailed for Manilla; 
arrived October 14; to Honolulu October 16; 
arrived October 26. To San Francisco Novem- 
ber 1. Mustered out November 3, 1919. 



NII.SEN, MARTIN 
Newell 

Born May 1, 1894. Enl. Septemlier 19. 1917. 
Cook Co. A 350th Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; to Camp Upton. Sailed R. M. S. 
Delta August 11; landed Southampton August 
25. To Cherbourg August 28; landed Cher- 
bourg August 29. To rest camp; September 2 
to Semur for inf. drill maneuvers; September 
23 to Haricourt for maneuvers; to Sainte- 
Alsace front October 1; to Toul sector Novem- 
ber 5, entered sector No\'ember 8: to Gondi'e- 
court December 18 to May 7, 1919; to St. 
Nazaire. Sailed on Aeolus May 19; landed 
New Yorlc May 30. Mustered out June 5, 
1919. 

NORRIS, JEAN AUGUSTUS 
Sioux Rapids 

Born June 16, 1889. Enl. July 22, 1918. 
Corp. in F. A. Trained at Camp Dodge and 
Camp Taylor. Mustered out November IS, 
1918. 

NORTHEY, ERWIN FRANK 
Sioux Rapids 

Enl. December 12, 1917. Mech. Ist-cl. Naval 
Aviation. Trained atl Dunwoody Institute. 
Saw chief service at Montauk, L. I.; was at 
Montauk for duration of naval activities. 



1 68 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



OAKMAN, WAITER JAMES 
Alta 
Born February 13. 1892. Enl. May 23. IflV. 
Musician Ist-cl. on Transport Service Ships 
Banl< and on U. S. S. Pastore.s. Trained at 
G. L. N. T. S.; to Norfolk, Va. Sailed from 
New York December 6; landed Bordeaux De- 
cember 13, 1918. Transported troops between 
New York and Bordeaux on U. S. S. Pastores; 
holds records for number of trips (21) in 
transporting troops; Pastores was second ship 
to dock with troops from the United States; 
average number of troops transported, in- 
cluding officers and men. 2.500. Played in 
Sousa"s 300-piece band on tour of Middle 
West and Eastern States for 2d Liberty Loan. 
Mustered out at G. L. N. T. S. August 7. 1919. 



OATMAN, GEORGE K. 
Maple Valley Township 

Born October 9. ISSS. Enl. .June 20. 1918. 
Corp. Co. C, 313th Engrs. 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; to Camp Mills. Sailed on 
Plassy August 16; landed Liverpool August 28. 
To Southampton; to Le Havre. To border of 
Switzerland; to Alsace sector; to Lorraine near 
Metz; there when armistice was signed; built 
railroads near Mctz one month; to Gud<'rcourt; 
to Densian Hdqrs.; to St. Nazaii-e. Sailed on 
Madawska May 25; landed New York June 6. 
To Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 16, 1919. 



OATMAN, JOHN 
'Washing'toii Township 
Born December 11. 1891. Enl. November 2, 
1918. Pvt. Automobile Machinist, Co. A, 4th 
Detach. Trained at Iowa State College. Mus- 
tered out L>ecember 11, 1918. 



O'DONOGHUE, ARCHIE 

Storm Xiake 

Born October 19, lN9r.. Enl. Si-pt. 2.'.. 1917. 
In Medical Reserve Corps, Iowa, assigned to 
Iowa City. Remained continuously in medical 
college by order of Surgeon General from 
October 1. 1917. to December 1. 1918. Would 
have received commission as 1st Lieut. March 
27, 1919. Mustered out December 1, 1918. 



O'DONOGHUE, J. H. 

Storm Iiake 

Born July 8. 1876. Enl. June 22, 1917. 

Captain, Spruce Production Division. Trained 

at Ft. Riley; at Vancouver Barracks in Spruce 

Production Division; in status of field officer 



during entire period of service; attached to 
troops getting airplane material along mouth 
of Columbia River with hdqrs. at St. Bend and 
Raymond, Washington. Mustered out Jan- 
uary 18, 1919. 



OI.IN, CARI. G. 

Fairfield Township 

Born July 5, 1895. Enl. July 21, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. K 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon in 4th Replm. Regt., trans, to 316th Inf. 
January 1, 1919. Sailed on U. S. S. Platts- 
burg August 30; landed Brest September 12. 
To St. George; to rest camp; to aviation field; 
to "\'erdun; to Argonne November 8; to Donni- 
leans until January 1; to Issencourt; to Bur- 
roni; to Cumgoine; to Sout Huinsi. Sailed 
on U. S. S. Texan May 16; landed May 29 at 
Philadelphia. To Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out June 10, 1919. 



OLIN, GUST J. 
Fairfield Township 

Born July 5, 1895. Enl. July 21, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at Camp 
Gordon. 

OIiSEN, I.ERK 

Newell 

Born March 11. 1S93, Enl. July 29. 191s. 
Pvt. Co. D, 209th Engrs. 9th Div. Trained at 
Camp Forrest; Camp Sheridan: Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out February 3, 1919. 



OI.SEN, MARIUS J. 

Providence Township 
Born September 26. 1892. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. P, 350th Regt. 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge. Sailed from New York August 
11; landed Liverpool August 25. To South- 
ampton; to Brest September 1. To ALsace- 
Lorraine front as automatic gunner for 11 
days; taken sick with influenza, later with 
trench fever; was in eight different hospitals. 
Sailed January 31; landed New York February 
12. To Camp Merritt. Mustered out March 
3. 1919. 

OI.SEN, OI.IVER MAX.TH)' 

Alta 
Born September 29, 1887. Enl. December 13, 
1917. 1st. Lieut, attached to Hdqrs. Staff, 
Division of Ordnance. Trained at Camp Han- 
cock Machine Gun School; at Wilbur Wright 
Aviation Field. Promoted from corp. to 2d 
Lieut., to 1st Lieut. Sailed on S. S. Adriatic 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



lOy 



October 6, 1918; landed Liverpool October 17. 
To Le Havre October 21. To Blois, to read 
instructions to incoming troops; to Hdqrs. in 
Paris: February 1, 1919. to Ordnance Repair 
Shops at Mehun; March 1 entered Univ. of 
Montpelier. Sailed from Brest on S. S. Nor- 
thern Pacific August 6; landed Hoboken August 
12. To Camp Dodge. Mustered out September 
3. 1919. 



OI-SEIi, THADDEUS CIiIPTOST 
Alta 

Born March 29, !&'.)». Enl. December 4, 1917. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Evac. Hosp. No. 12, Medical Corps. 
Trained at Ft. Logan; at Ft. Riley; to Evac. 
Hosp. No. 12, Camp Dix. Sailed from Phila- 
delphia August 14; landed Cherbourg August 
28. Entered fighting zone at Pagny-sur-Meuse 
September 5, 1918; to Royamieux; with Army 
of Occupation at Trier. Germany; to Le Mans; 
to Ecommoy; to St. Nazaire. Sailed on U. 
S. S. Texan from Brest June 15; landed New- 
port News June 27, 1919. To Camp Hill; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out July 5, 1919. 



OIiSON, CHRIST E. 

I^ee Township 
Born June 29, 18S9. Enl. September 5, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. M. P. in Depot Brigade. Trained 
at Camp Dodge. Mustered out March 1, 1919. 



OI.SON, HARRY P. 

Newell 
Born January 14, 1896. Enl. July 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D 362d Inf., 91st Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; to Camp Dix. Sailed from New- 
York September 10. on Grandscow; landed 
Glasgow, September 23. To Southampton; to 
Cherbourg. To Monpont for three weeks of 
training; to Flanders October 30 to November 
5; relieved French on Flanders front; went 
over top; moved to immediate rear about three 
months; to France, ordered back to front the 
day of armistice; in line on Flanders front; 
to France in the Le Mans area. Sailed from 
St. Nazaire April 3 on Edward Luckenbach; 
landed New York April 14. To Camp Merritt; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out April 30, 1919. 



OI.SON, VICTOR B. 

Barnes Township 

Born December 19, 1890. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A 122d Engrs. Trained at Camp For- 
rest; to Camp Upton. Sailed from New York 
September 29; landed Brest October 13. To 
Angers two weeks; to Gievres nine days; to 
Alencon November 13; to forwarding camp at 
Le Mans; to Jaineville-le-Pont May 5, 1919; 
to Brest June 21. Sailed June 30; landed 
Camp Mills July 12. To Camp Dodge. Mus- 
tered out July 19, 1919. 



OI.SOH, ARTHUR I.. 

Newell 
Born March 1, 1901. Enl. July 9, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. K 3d Bn. 11th Regt. Marine Corps. Trained 
at Mare Island. Sailed from Quantico, Va. ; 
Landed in France. Did guard duty at Bor- 
deaux. 

OI.SON, CARI. AI.FRED 

Albert City 
Born February 8, 1895. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. CO! D, 164th Inf. 41st Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon; to Camp Merritt. Sailed August 
30 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed Brest Sep- 
tember 12. To St. George; to St. Aignan; to 
Schousay; to Brest. Sailed February 8 on U. S. 
S. President Grant; landed New York February 
26. To Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out March 10, 1919. 



OI.SON, J. CLIPPORD 

Ne'well 
Born May 22, 1894. Enl. June 26, 1918. Pvt. 
Hosp. Co. 350th Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge. Sailed August 10 on S. S. Delta 
from New Y'ork; landed Liverpool August 25. 
To Southampton; to Cherbourg. To Semur; to 
Bracquemont; to Girmagny; to Laginy Woods 
November 11; to Minaucourt; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed for U. S. ; landed NewiJort News. Mus- 
tered out June 5, 1919. 



OI.SON, MAGNUS 

Scott Township 

Born December 8, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 

Corp. Development Bn. No. 2, Officers' Training 

Camp. Trained at Camp Gordon; to Camp 

Wheeler. Mustered out December 18, 1919. 



OIiSON, OSCAR J. 

Barnes Township 

Born June 23, 1895. Enl. May 25. 1917. 
Corp. Co. D, 5th Engrs. 7th Div. Trained 
at Ft. Logan; to El Paso; to Brownsville; to 
Corpus Christ! ; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from 
New York on H. R. Mallory; landed Brest 
August 12. To Pont-et-Massene Barracks 
five days; to Perigny-sur-Armanson-Y'onne six 
weeks; to Chaligny; to front lines; to St. 
Mihiel sector September 26; to Minneville two 
weeks; to front at Puvenvile Woods; to Vil- 
lers-sur-Preny; to Thiaucourt engaged in road 




William B. Olson 
Storm Lake 



Joseph O'Malley 
Washington Township 



Bennie W. Oquist 
Sioux Rapids 



George Almor Osmundson 
Sioux Rapids 




Irving' Osmundson 
Sioux Rapids 



Louis F. Otteman 
Coon Township 



Ray M, Overmeyer 
Sioux Rapids 



Louis Arthur Parker 
Sioux Rapids 




John L. Parkhill 
Storm Lake 



Floyd D. Parrott 
Nokomis Township 



Thomas B. Patten 
Alta 



Jens Paulsen 
Newell 




Aug-ust R. Peck 
Storm Lake 



Peder Frands Pedersen 
Storm Lake 



John W. Pendleton 
Storm Laxe 



Victor E. Penn 
Alta 




Allen L, Pennell 
Barnes Township 



Charles D. Pentico 
Storm Lake 



Karl Pentito 
Storm Lake 



A. Victor Peterson 
Alta 




Adolph Peterson 
Elk Township 



Alfred Peterson 
Elk Township 



Berber Martin Peterson 
Sioux Rapids 



Charles Peterson 
Newell 



1/2 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



construction near Metz; salvage work at 
Rouillion\'ille from December 5 to January 1: 
to Barbache; to Brest. Sailed February 15 on 
U. S. S. George Washington; stopped at Boston 
February 24; landed New York February 25. 
To Camp Mills; to Camp Humphreys; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out March 25, 1919. 



OI.SOM', WII.I.IAM B. 
Storm liake 

Born .lune 15, 18:i4. Knl. .luly 24. HUS. Pvt. 
Replni. Co. Trained at ('amp Gordon. Dis- 
charged on account of physical disability. 



0'MAI.I.EY, JOSEPH 
Washingrton To'wuship 
Born June lit, 1889. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon thirty days with Co. E. 4th Replm. 
Regt. Si.\ months service in France with the 
79lh Div.; at Argonne, Verdun. Mustered 
out May 10, 1919. 



OQUIST, BENNIE W. 
Sioux Rapids 

Born April 111, 1SS9. lOiil. June 7, 191S. 
Carpenter's mate 2d-cl. in Naval Aviation. 
Trained at Pensacola. Fla.; Charleston, S. C. 
for one month, repairing seaplanes. Mustered 
out April 9, 1919. 



OSmUNDSON, GEORGE AI.MOR 
Slouz Rapids 

Born June 5, 1889. Knl. May 13, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. H 64th Inf. 7th Div. Trained at Camp 
MacArthur until August 15. Sailed from New 
York August 24 on U. S. S. Mt. Vernon; landed 
Bi'est September 3. To Stigney one week; to 
Argentueil ten days; to Doulard one week; to 
Toul sector October 10, held line at a point ten 
miles from Metz for eight days; returned to 
reserves October 21 to 25; to Gegencourt; re- 
turned to reserve position for five days; back to 
Gcngcncourt November 2; received Mccidental 
gunshot wound in right eye November 3; to 
Base IIosp. No. 45 at Toul until December 26; 
to Base Hosp. at Savaney; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed on Manchuria January 10; landed New 
York January 22. To Hosp. No. 2 on Staten 
Island three weeks; to Ft. McHenry three 
weeks; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out March 
20, 1919. 



OTTEMAN, IiOUIS T. 
Coon Township 
Born February 18, 1894. Enl. June 26, 1918. 
I'vt. Co. D 350th Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge until August 8. Sailed from New 
York August 11 on the S. S. Delta; landed 
England August 25. To Southampton; to Le 
Havre. To Semur three weeks; to Chassias 
until October 4; to Alsace-Lorraine sector 
October 5; in offensive two weeks before armis- 
tice was signed; moved off front to Naix De- 
cember 1 until May 7, 1919. Sailed from St. 
Nazaire May 19; landed Newport News. To 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 5, 1919. 

OTERMYER, RAY M. 

Sioux Rapids 
Born March in, 1890. Enl. April 26, 1918. 
Corp. Co. D, 360th Regt. 90th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; at Camp Travis; and at Arbot, 
France. Landed in France June 14. To front 
August 22; in St. Mihiel drive September 12 to 
16; captured Hill No. 317 September 15; at 
Meuse-Argonne October 26 to November 11; on 
November 1 took Grand Carre Farm and ad- 
vanced to Hill 243; Nov. 2 took part in opera- 
tion of taking Hill No. 321; November 11 on 
front just out of Baalon near Mouzay; No- 
vember 17 to Verton, Belgium; November 26 
to December 23 hiked to Germany, passing 
through Trier and up Moselle Valley, stopping 
at Wehlen where he stayed until Ma.v 17, 1919; 
entrained for St. Nazaire. Sailed May 27; 
landed Boston June 7. To Camp Devens; to 
Camp Sherman. Mustered out June 15, 1919. 



FARKE.R, IIOUIS ARTHUR 

Sioux Rapids 
Born December 8, 1896. Enl. December 13, 
1917. Corp. Base Hosp. No. 26, Med. Corps. 
Trained at Ft. McPherson until June 1, 1918. 
Sailed from Hoboken on Adriatic June 4; 
landed Liverpool June 16. Crossed Channel 
to Le Havre June 19. To Allerey June 20; 
until March 1, 1919; to Birmingham and joined 
the American Student Dept. at Birmingham 
Univ. from March 20 until July 1. Sailed 
from Liverpool July 6 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; 
stopped at Brest until July 17; left Brest on 
Martha Washington July 17; landed New York 
July 27, 1919. To Camp Mills. Mustered out 
August 1, 1919. 

PARKHII.I., JOHN I.. 
Storm Ziake 

Born October 13, 1897. Enl. May 28, 1918. 
2d Lieut. Aviation Service. Trained at S. M. 
A. Austin, Te.\as; Camp Dick; Eberts Field; 
Love Field. Mustered out March 13, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 173 



PABBOTT, FLOYD D. 

Nokomls Township 
Born March 2, lS;il. lOnl. May 27. IHIS. Pvt. 
Co. C, 352d Inf. 88th Div. Trained at Camp 
Dodge two months; to Camp Mills. Sailed 
from New York on Ascouiam August 16; 
landed Liverpool August 28. To Southampton: 
to Le Havre. To Hericourt for training four 
weeks; to Alsace sector; to Toul 18 days; to 
Gondrecourt Area; to Beaune Versity until 
March 16; to St. Nazaire. Sailed May 25 on 
U. S. S. Madawska; landed New York on June 
6. 1919. To Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 
15, 191!). 

PATTEN, THOMAS BBYANT 

Alta 
Born October 10, 1895. Knl. May 24, 1917. 
Coxswain, U. S- Navy. Trained at G. L. N. 
T. S.; to U. S. S. Minnesota, where he quali- 
fied with gun crew within two months; trans, 
to receiving ship at Norfolk: to St. Helena; 
to Virginia Beach Rifle Range; to St. Helena; 
to S. S. Hwahjah in service of the N. S. A. C. 
T. ; was in four different engagements with 
submarines; trans, to U. S. S. Agamemnon on 
which ship he made four round triiis. Mus- 
tered out July 29, 1919. 



FATTLSEir, JENS 
Newell 
Born May 14, 1893. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. D, 167th Inf. 41st Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon. Sailed November 8; landed Cuntles. 
France. Sailed from Brest for U. S.: landed 
Hoboken. Mustered out March 4. 1919. 



PAULSON, BEINHOLD M. I>. 

Albert City 

Born March 27. 1S92. Knl. May 13, 191S. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. 8th Squadron 1st Regt. Signal 
Corps section, Aviation. Trained at Vancouver 
Barracks-; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
January 2, 1919. 



PIEBSON, JEBSON N. 

Albert City 
Born January 16, 1889. Enl. September 6, 
1917. Pvt. Base Hosp. No. 121, Med. Corps. 
Trained at Camp Dodge; to Camp Beauregard; 
to Camp Upton. Sailed from New York No- 
vember 13; landed Liverpool. To Le Havre. 
To Bordeaux Base Hos|). about seven months. 
Sailed June 29 on U. S. S. Huron; landed New- 
port News July 10. To Camp Dodge. Mus- 
tered out July 17, 1919. 



PIEBSON, JOHN A. 

Albert City 

Born December 9, 1888. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D 4th Replm. Trained at Camp Gor- 
don. Mustered out July 31, 1919. 



PESCH, AUGUST B. 
Storm Lake 
Born April 17, 1895. Enl. April 5, 1918. Pvt. 
Med. Corps. Trained at Camp Dodge and 
Prescott. Arizona. 



PEDEBSEN, PEDEB PBANDS 
Newell 

Born April 17, 1889. Enl. September 19, 1917. 
Mechanic Co. C, 362d Inf. 91st Div. Trained 
at Camp Lewis. Foreign service 9 months, St. 
Mihiel September 11 to 13; Gesnes Dept. of 
Meuse September 26 to October 12. Mustered 
out May 1, 1919. 



PENDLETON, JOHN W. 
Storm Lake 

Born April 8, 1893. Enl. March 14, 1918. 
Sgt. Co. A, 1st Bn. Ordnance Corps. Trained 
at Washington, D. C; Central Officers' Train- 
ing School, Camp Lee. Promoted from pvt. 1st- 
cl. to Corp., to sgt. of ordnance and then ad- 
mitted to Officers' Training School. Mustered 
out November 23, 1918. 

FENN, VICTOB E. 

Alta 
Born June 19, 1889. Enl. September 9, 1918. 
Pvt. unassigned. Trained at Camp Dodge; as- 
signed to Military Clerical Detachment, State 
of Iowa, and assigned to special duty with tlic 
Local Board for the County of Adair, State of 
Iowa, Greenfield, Iowa. Mustered out at Camp 
Dodge, December 27, 1918. 



FENNELL, ALLEN L. 
Barnes Township 

Born February 4, 1894. Enl. July 1, 1917. 
Pvt. Batt. C, 1st F. A. Trained at Angel 
Island. California, until March 27, 1919. Mus- 
tered out March 27, 1919. 

FENTICO, CHABLES D. 

Storm Lake 

Born December 1, 1897. Enl. December 11, 
1917. Corp. Co. F, 104th M. T. C. 29th Div. 
Trained at Camp McClellan; Camp MacArthur; 




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Frank W. Peterson 
Alta 



iJuy \V. I'eterscin 
Alta 



Har\"ey Ciiris Peterson 
Elk Township 



Henry J. Peterson 
Grant Township 




Knute Alfred Peterson Kristen Petersen 

Albert City Newell 



Leonard Peterson 
Alta 



Nels A. Peterson 
Newell 




Norval A. Peterson 
Lee Township 



Oscar C. Peterson 
Alta 



Russell W. Peterson 
Alta 



Verner A. Peterson 
Elk Township 




^Valferd Cai-l Petersun 
Alta 



Roval V. Petlon 
Elk Township 



Lloyd Petty 
Storm Lake 



l;nsh l;, l-.-\vsf\- 
Stoi'ni Lake 




liiissell Al. I'ewsey 
Storm Lake 



irvinj? K. riiipi': 
Lee Township 



l-ester H. Phipps 
Lee Township 



Edgar W. Piercy 
Newell 




James B. Pike 
Hayes Township 



Norman G. Pike 
Hayes Township 



John Plagman 
Brooke Township 



Paul F. Plagman 
Brooke Township 



176 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



Ft. Sill. Sailed from Philadelphia June 28; 
landed Liverpool. To Southampton; to Cher- 
bourg. To St. Nazaire; to Langres; to Fon- 
taine; to Argonne front October 9; to Bar-le- 
Duc: November 5 to Bour Bonne-les-Baines; to 
St. Nazaire. Sailed June 13; landed Charleston; 
to Camp Dodge. Mu.stered out July 5, 1919. 



PENTICO, EARI. 
Storm Iiake 

Born July 3, 1892. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Hdqrs. Co. 329th Inf. 83d Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from 
New York latter part of August on Leviathan; 
landed Brest September 2. To hosp. in Brest 
for three weeks: to Le Mans, Joined S3d Div. 
here; to Eccemoy; to Paris; to Verdun front 
for three weeks; to Le Mans; to Hosp. No. 
52; in Le Mans two weeks; to St. Nazaire 
hosp. ten days; to hosp. near Brest ten days. 
Sailed on Leviathan March 27; landed New 
York April 2. To Camp Mills; to Ft. Des 
Moines from April 17 to June 11. Mustered 
out June 11, 1919, 



PETERSON, A. VICTOR 

Alta 
Born January 17, 1892. Enl. December 15. 
1917. Mechanic, 12th Aero Squadron. Trained 
Camp Grant; at Kelly Field; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed for France May 15, 1918. In France 
assigned at a mechanic with the 12th Aero 
Squadron; served in four battles: Champagne- 
Marne defensive; Aisne-Marne offensive; St. 
Mihiel offensive; Meuse-Argonne offensive. 
After armistice was ordered to Coblenz with 
Army of Occupation. Sailed May. 1919; landed 
in U. S. June 16. Mustered out at Camp Custer 
July 1. 1919. 

PETERSON, ADOI.FK 

Elk Township 

Born October 14. 1X91. Enl. May 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. G, 352d Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; to Camp Mills. Sailed from New 
York August 16 on English boat Ulysses; 
landed Liverpool August 28. To Winchester; 
to Southampton; to Le Havre. To Belfort; 
was at Lorraine front until armistice was 
signed; outfit moved to Gendicourt five months; 
to St. Nazaire. Sailed on Pocahontas May 21; 
landed Newport News June 1. 1919. To Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 16. 1919. 

PETERSON, AI.FRED 

Elk Township 
Born October 13, 1886. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 316th Regt. 79th Div. Trained 



at Camp Gordon; to Camp 'Merritt. Sailed 
from New York August 28 on U. S. S. Platts- 
burg; landed Brest September 12. To St. 
George ten days for training; joined the 79th 
Div.; at Argonne-Meuse 14 days before armis- 
tice was signed; billeted at Reville six weeks; 
to Tisoncourt three months. Sailed from St. Na- 
zaire May 16 on the Texan; landed Phila- 
delphia. To Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out June 10, 1919. 



PETERSON, BER6ER MARTIN 

Sioux Rapids 
Born October 10, 1894. Enl. November 26, 
1917. Pvt. 163d D. B. 55th M. G. Bn. 19th Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge for duration of en- 
listment; with M G. Bn. three months; with 
Med. Corps remainder of time. Mustered out 
February 1, 1919. 



PETERSON, CARI. S. 

Marathon 
Born August 8, 1888. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Mu.stered out July 31. 1918. 



PETERSON, CHARI;ES 
Newell 

Born August 29, 1892. Enl. July 27, 1918. 
Pvt. Vet. Hosp. No. 17, Vet. Corps. Trained 
at Camp Dodge and Camp Lee. Sailed from 
Norfolk October 29 on Contigny; landed No- 
vember 9 at Brest. To Lougyon for five months 
doctoring horses: to Grieves two months; to 
Le Mans 12 days; to Belgium camp; to Brest. 
Sailed June 24 on IT. S. S. Huntington; landed 
Boston July 5. Mustered out July 11, 1919. 



PETERSON, FRANK W. 
Alta 

Born February 22, 1890. Enl. July 29. 1918. 
Corp. Aviation Motor Inspectors. Trained at 
Camp Forrest with Co. F, 213th Engrs.; to 
Buffalo. Aviation Motor Inspectors: to Curtis 
Aviation Field. Mustered out at Camp Dodge, 
April 8. 1919. 



PETERSON, GUSTAV H. 
Elk Township 

Born April 17. 1892. Enl. July 29. 1918. 
Corp. Co. E, 212th Engrs. 12th Div. Trained 
at Camp Forrest until September 15; to Camp 
Devens until February 18, 1919. Mustered out 
at Camp Dodge February 28, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUXTY 



177 



PETERSON, GUY W. 
Alta 

Born December 2, 1893. Enl. September 20, 
1917. Cook Ist-cl. Co. A, 350th Inf. SSth Dlv. 
Trained at Camp Dodge. Promoted from pvt. 
to cook Ist-cl. Sailed with SSth Div. for 
France. Volunteered to assist as baker while on 
transport. Served with 88th Div. in France as 
cook with Co. A, 350th Inf. Returned to 
United States: mustered out at Camp Dodge 
June 5. 1919. Married to Maria W. Van 
Nimwegen. 



PETERSON, HARVEY CHRIS 

Elk Township 
Born April 14, 1896. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. K, 28th Inf. 1st Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon until October 17: to Camp Mer- 
ritt. Sailed from Hoboken on Leviathan Octo- 
ber 27: landed Liverpool November 3. To 
France November 6. Was at Le Mans when 
armistice was signed; to Le Havre: to Verdun: 
joined 1st Div.; to Coblenz with Army of 
(Occupation: was compelled to hike a distance 
of 200 miles on march to Coblenz; in Germany 
five months: taken sick and ordered to U. S. 
Sailed from St. Nazaire May 6 on Powhatan: 
landed Newport News May 21. To Hampton 
Roads; to Fort Sheridan; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out July 5, 1919. 



PETERSON, HENRY J. 

Grant Township 
Born May 25, 1894. Enl. June 25, 1918. Corp. 
Co. C, 350th Inf. SSth Div. Trained at Camp 
Dodge. Sailed from New York August 11; 
landed Liverpool August 25. To Southampton; 
to Cherbourg September 4. To Chassee; to 
Alsace-Lorraine for 31 days; to position near 
Metz three weeks. To Naix May 7; to St. 
Nazaire. Sailed on S. .S. Aeolus May 19; 
landed Newport News May 30. Mustered out 
June 5, 1919. 

PETERSON, HOI.GAR E. 
Rembrandt 

Enl. February. 1918. Pvt. Co. A, M. P. 3d 
Army. Trained at Camp Lee. Sailed over- 
seas May, 1918. Was wounded in Argonne 
Forest: sent to Coblenz with Army of Occu- 
pation. 

PETERSON, JAMES EI-MER 

Newell 

Born January 15, 1893. Enl. May 27, 1918. 
Mechanic Co. F. 349th Regt. SSth Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge. Landed LiveriJool October 



10. To Southampton October 13; to Versigny. 
To Argonne-Meuse sector, hiked two days; 
went in lines for five days in quiet sector. 
Sailed from St. Nazaire May 19 on S. S. 
Rigandaw; landed Hoboken May 30, 1919. 
Mustered out June 12, 1919. 



PETERSON, KNUTE AI.FRED 
Albert City 

Born October 13, 1890. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon; to Camp Merritt, in Co. D. 4th 
Replm. Sailed from New York August 30 on 
U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed Brest September 
12. To St. George with Co. M, 163d Regt. 41st 
Div.; to Verdun; to Genicourt; assigned to 
316th Inf. 79th Div.; in front lines October 29, 
over the top November 3; assisted in the cap- 
ture of Hill 378 on November 10; attacked 
hill near Danvaliers; to Etraye; to Reveille; 
to Issencourt three months: hiked five days 
to Trampot: to Reviecourt; to Vallet; to St. 
Nazaire. Sailed May 16 on U. S. S. Texan; 
landed Philadelphia May 29. To Camp Dix; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 10, 1919. 



PETERSEN, KRISTEN 
Newell 

Born June. 1892. Enl. July 24. 1918. Pvt. 
Co. I, 4th Replm. Regt., in 107th Bn. Sailed 
for France August 25. 



PETERSON, I.EONARD 

Alta 
Born May 28, 1900. Enl. October 11. 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista Col- 
lege. Storm Lake. Iowa. Mustered out De- 
cember 13, 1918. 



PETERSON, NEIiS S. 
Newell 

Born February 13, 1894. Enl. December 
10, 1917. Corp Batt. D, 40th Regt. Coast 
Artillery. Trained at Ft. Logan; to Presidio. 
California; to Ft. Baker, in Non-commissioned 
Oflicers' School: to Ft. Winfield Scott. Mus- 
tered out December 10, 1918. 



PETERSON, NORVAI. A. 

Ijee Township 

Born October 25, 1894. Enl. September 1. 

1918. Pvt. in the 16th Co., not assigned to 

regiment. Trained at Camp Dodge. Mustered 

out November 26, 1918. 




I'liil li. I'laiialp 
Storm Lake 



^^'illiam A Ploeser 
Hayes Township 



William A. I'ukestv 
Alta 



James Poland 
Storm Lake 




Oscar Andrew Ponsor 
Fairfield Township 



Alex C. Porath 
Newell 



August Fi-ed Herman 

Porath, Jr. 

Coon Township 



Emil A. Porath 
Newell 




Fred A. Porath 
Newell 



Clifford Eugene Porter 
Nokomis Tow-nship 



Ray E. Porter 
Nokomis Township 



Henrv Post 
Grant Township 




>r5!^- 



V 





liasiiius Juigeii ruulsen 
Coon Township 



Albert L. Powell 
Linn Grove 



David E. Preston 
Storm Lake 



William Jerome Preston 
Storm Lake 




William M. Quick 
Lee Township 



LeRov A. Rader 
Alta 



Clarence Paper 
Poland Township 



Rasmus A. Rasmusscn 
Providence Township 




Alvin B. Redd 
Sioux Rapids 



Manson S. Redeiibaugh 
Storm Lake 



J. Mi'ler Redfield 
Newell 



Archie F. Reding 
Newell 



i8o 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUXTY 



PETERSON, OSCAR C. 

Alta 

Born May 9, 1894. Enl. February 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Batt. A, 339th Regt. Field Art. Trained 
at Camp Dodge. Honorably discharged May 
10, 1918, by reason of chronic pulmonary tuber- 
culosis. Died September 16, 1918, of chronic 
pulmonary tuberculosis. 



PEWSEY, RtTSS B. 
Storm Iiake 

Born October 3, 1887. Enl. October 4, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 19th M. P. Trained at Camp 
Dodge with 163d D. B., later trans, to Co. B, 
19th M. P., trans, to 219th Engrs. Mustered 
out June 5, 1919. Rush B. Pewsey enlisted 
May 28, 1918, rejected by reason of spinal de- 
fects; drafted into service again October 4, 
1918. 



FETERSOM, PETER O. 

Ziee Township 
Born February 1, 1892. Enl. August 21. Pvt. 
Co. 5 Inf. and Co. 309 Q. M. C. Remount. 
Trained at Camp Gordon: Camp McClellan; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out April 2, 1919. 



PETERSON, RUSSEI.!; W. 

Alta 
Born July 25, 189B. Enl. September 5, 1918, 
Pvt. Co. 15, 21st Regt. 19th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge with Co. 58 Inf.; at Ft. Bar- 
rancas with Co. 15, 21st Art. 19th Div. Mus- 
tered out at Camp Dodge January 2, 1919, 



PETERSON, VERNER A. 

Elk Township 

Born December 5, 1896. Enl. September 6, 

1918. Pvt. Co. D, Inf. D. B. Bn. Trained at 

Camp Dodge. Mustered out December 2, 1918. 



PETERSON, WAIiFERD CARIi 
Alta 
Born June 4, 1896. Enl. June 18, 1918, 
Ldsman, Electrician Co, 12. Trained at G. L, 
N, T, S. Mustered out January 20, 1919. 



PETI.ON, ROYAI. V. 

Elk Township 

Born July 25, 1896. Enl. July 18, 1918, 
Seaman in U. S. Navy. Trained at G. L. N. 
T. S.; was in hospital at Great Lakes with 
the Spanish influenza four months. Mustered 
out February 19, 1919. 



PETTY, MERI.IN ROY 

Sioux Rapids 
Born November 25, 1891. Enl. September 20, 
1918. Pvt. Co. A, 2d Inf. 19th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out January 21, 1919. 



PEWSEY, RUSSEI,!, M. 
Storm Ziake 

Born October 3. 1897. Enl. September 6, 
1918. Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. 58 163d D. B., trans, to 
Co. E, 88th Inf. 19th Div. Trained at Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 5, 1919. Russell 
M. Pew.sey enlisted on the 28th day of May, 
1918, and was rejected; drafted on the 6th of 
September, 1918, 



PHIPPS, IRVING E. 

Lee Township 

Born June 3. 1899. Enl. October 11, 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista 
College. Storm Lalic, Iowa. Mustered out De- 
cember 13, 1918. 



PHIPPS, I.ESTER H. 

liee Township 
Born April 7, 1897. Enl. July, 1918, Pvt. 
in Med. Corps. Trained at Iowa State College. 
Mustered out January 15, 1919, 



FIERCE, EDWIN V. 

Iiinn Grove 
Born June 15, 1899. Enl. October 1, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. 7, training for Heavy Artillery at 
Iowa State College. Mustered out December 
17, 1918. 



PIERCY, EDGAR W. 

Ne"well 
Born October 12, 1891. Enl. July 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. G, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon; Camp Merritt. Sailed Sep- 
tember 2; landed Brest. To Verdun; to front 
lines October 25; wounded with shrapnel in hip 
October 30; to Base Hosp. No. Ill; to Bor- 
deaux; was wounded in Argonne Forest while 
going into position. Sailed February 11; 
landed in U. S. Mustered out March 20, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA MSTA COUNTY 



i8i 



FIKE, JAMES B. 
Hayes Township 

Born May 28, 1887. Enl. September i. 1918. 
Pvt. Ca.sualty and First Aid in Med Corps. 
Trained at Ft. Riley two montlis; Ft. Leaven- 
worth seven months; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out June 12, 1919. 

PIKE, NORMADT G. 
Hayes Township 

Born December 28. 1S90. Enl. July 24, 191S. 
Pvt. Co. G, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon one month; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed overseas. Returned to U. S. Mustered 
out June 10, 1919. 

FIERSON, AUREIiIUS 
Albert City 

Born April 29, 1893. Enl. February 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Hdars. Co. 139th Inf. 35th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge until April 14; to Camp Mills. 
Sailed on Caronia April 24; landed Liverpool 
May 6. To Romsey; to France June 30. Landed 
Le Havre July 4. To St. Aignan; to Bains- 
les-Bains; July 17 to Corniomont; July 21 to 
Huith; July 30 to Alsace-Lorraine sector; 
division relieved the 6tli Diw September 12; to 
Neucomaisons September 15; September 22 to 
Allen\-ille Woods; Septemlier 25 to Argonne 
Forest; relieved October 1 by the 82d Div.; 
October 3 to Camp Massa; to Verdun front 
October 29; November 7 relieved by the 81st 
Div.; November 8 to Bannancourt on Metz 
front; November 12 to Rupt; to Vignot; to 
Toici; March 19 to Belgium Camp; to St. Na- 
zaire March 25. Sailed April 13 from St. Na- 
zaire; landed Newport News, having made voy- 
age on Matsonia, April 24. To Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out May 2, 1919. 

PI.AGMAN, JOHN 

Bx'ooke Towmship 
Born December 19, 1892. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. C, Camp Regt. 3d Div. Trained 
at Camp Gordon; to Camp Merritt. Sailed 
on n, S. S. Plattsburg August 29; landed 
Brest September 12. To La Lues; to Meuse- 
Argonn© until November 11; to Alsace-Lor- 
raine; to Luxemburg; crossed line December 
1; to Plaidt from December 16 until May 5. 
1919; to Audernach; to Coblenz one month; 
opened Gen. Pershing's Stadium June 22; 
closed the stadium July 6; marched in Peace 
Day Parade in Paris July 14; to London for 
parade; to Paris; to Brest. Sailed on Levia- 
than September 1; landed Hoboken September 
8. To Camp Mills; paraded in New York Sep- 
tember 10; to Washington September 17 for 
parade; to Camp Meade; to Camp Dodge. Mus- 
tered out September 24, 1919. 



PIAGMAN, PAUL T. 
Brooke Township 

Born April 1, 1897. ICiil. September 5. 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. 163d D. B. Med. Detach. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; to Camp Beauregard; to Base 
Hosp. 3121, Med Dept. October 11 to 29; to 
Camp Upton November 1 to 19. Sailed No- 
vember 13 on Adriatic; landed Liverpool No- 
vember 24. To Southampton; to Le Havre. 
By rail to Bordeaux, camped near Bordeaux 
from November 29 to June 29, 1919. Sailed 
from Bordeaux June 29- landed Newport News 
July 11. To Camp Stewart; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out July 1", 1919. 

FLANALP, PHIi; G. 

Storai Iiake 

Born December 10. 1894. Enl. March 1. 191S. 
Pvt. 1st Ordnance Co. Ordnance Dept., Raritan 
Arsenal. Trained at University of Chicago; 
Camp Hancock. Mustered out December 18, 

1918. 

PI.OEGBR, VrlLLIAM A. 

Hayes Township 
Born November 20, 1895. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. L, 316th Regt. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon; St. Georges, France. Sailed to 
France. Sent up near front; was in reserve 
when he was sent to hospital with pneumonia 
and measles. Mustered out April 15. 

POKESTY, WIIiIiIAM A. 
Alta 
Born April 9, 1891. Enl. Augu.st 6, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 1st Bn. Inf. O. A. R. D. Trained 
at Jefferson Barracks; to Camp MacArthur; 
to Camp Merritt. Sailed November 9; recalled 
November 11 to Camp Merritt. To Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out December 15, 1918. 

POLAND, JAMES 
Stonu Lake 

Born May 28, 1887. Enl. September 4, 1917. 
Sgt. Co. B, 313th Engrs. 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge. Sailed from New York; landed 
Liverpool. To Winchester; to Le Havre. Saw 
28 days of active service . in Alsace-Lorraine 
sector. Landed in U. S. June 6, 1919. Mus- 
tered out June 16, 1919. 



PONSOR, OSCAR ANDREW 
Fairfield Township 

Born March 27, 1891. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. 41. 20th Engrs. Trained at Camp For- 
rest; Camp Merritt. Sailed October 28 on 
George W'ashington; landed Brest November 7. 






H. F. Ileedcr 
Alta 



Aitliur Frank Reesa 
Linn Grove 



Henrv E. Reese 
Alta 




John E. Ueese 
Nokomis Township 



Peter W. Jie-^se 
Alta 



Tliomas Fluyd Reese 
Linn Grove 



John C. Refslanil 
Sioux Rapids 




Arthur R. Rehnstrom 
Scott Township 



Reuben A. Rehnstrom 
Elk Toviinship 



Artliur F. Reis 
Providence Township 



John Franklin Reynolds 
Storm Lake 




Winchester Englebert 

l^teynolds 

Storm Lake 



Everett E. Rice 
Hayes Township 



George Basil Uice 
Storm Lal^e 



Norman Beryl Rice 
Storm Lake 




Herbert Wesley Richardsjii 
Storm Lake 



Carlos A. FUchter 
Grant Township 



Roy Rigdon 
Alta 



Daniel A. Uilcy 
Lincoln Township 




Edward J. Riley 
Lincoln Township 



Carl Bernard Risvold 
Barnes Township 



Selmer A. Risvold 
Scott Township 



Clifton J. Robar 
Nokomis Township 



i84 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA MSTA COUXTY 



To Angers one week: to Bordeaux; to Camp 
Buricus until May 1; to Camp Genicourt. Sailed 
May 15 on Luckenbach; landed Hoboken June 
1. To Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out June 16, 1919. 



FORATK, AI-EX C. 

Ne'well 
Born July 29, 1890. Enl. February 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. I, 130th Regt. 33d Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge and Camp Logan. Sailed from 
New York on Agamemnon May 17: landed 
Brest May 24. Trained a month near Abbey- 
ville; to Somme front two weeks; to Albert 
front six weeks: to Verdun until October 10; 
wounded by inachine-gun bullet on October 
10; taken to Evac, Hosp. No. 6; to Base Hosp. 
Xo. 25: to Base Hosp. 38 near St. Xazaire. 
Sailed December 10 on S. S. Zeelandia; landed 
Newport News December 22, 1918. Mustered 
out May 9, 1919. 



POBATH, AUGUST FRED HEBMAW, JR. 
Coon To'WTisliip 

Born May 25, 1898. Enl. June 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, 350th Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge until July 25; to Ft. Riley until 
September 27. Mustered out September 27, 
1918. 

FOKATH EMU. A. 
Newell 
Born September 6, 188C. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at Camp 
Gordon. Discharged July 31. On October 3 
again inducted into service; sent to Jeffer- 
son Barracks. Discharged December 15, 1918. 



FORATH, FRED A. 

Newell 
Born December 1. 1898. Enl. October 11, 
1918. Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista 
College. Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered out 
December 13, 1918. 



PORTER, CLIFFORD EUGENE 

Nokomis Township 
Born February 27, 1897. Enl. July 16, 1918. 
Seaman 2d-cl. U. S. Navy. Trained at G. L. 
N. T. S.; sailed from Newport News June 16, 
1919; landed St. Nazaire June 29. To New- 
port News; to Brest; trans, to U. S. S. Sus- 
quehanna; landed at New York August 27; to 
Brooklyn Hosp.; to Washington, D. C; to 
Philadelphia: to G. L. N. T. S. Mustered out 
October 21, 1919. 



FORTER RAY E. 
Nokomis To'wnship 
Born August 24, 1S95. Enl. July 6, 1917. 
Seaman on U. S. S. Great Northern. Trained 
at G. L. N. T. S. for 18 months; to Naval 
Barracks at N. Y. February 9, 1919; assigned 
to L^. S. S. Great Northern; made five round 
trips from New York to Brest from April 3 to 
6th of July, 1919. To G. L. N. T. S. Mustered 
out August 23, 1919. 

FOST, HENRY 

Grant Township 
Born January 25, 1893. Enl. February 25, 
1918. Pvt. Co. 45, 20th Engrs. A. E. F. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; at Camp American Univer- 
sity. Sailed on President Lincoln May 10; 
landed Brest May 23. To Bazoilles May 31, 
worked in timber here until August 5; to Ren- 
ner to build a sawmill; to Gironcourt Septem- 
ber 20; to Chimilin and attached to the M. T. 
C. of Chimilin until November 24, here his 
arm was broken and he was sent to Base 
Hosp. No. 66 at Bazoilles: joined company at 
Ponteux in southern France: worked in timber 
until May 13. Sailed from Bordeaux on Luck- 
enbach for the U. S. May 17; landed Hoboken 
June 1. Mustered out June 9 at Camp Dodge. 



FOUI.SEN, RASMUS JORGEN 

Coon To'wnship 

Born March 3, 1898. Enl. October 13, 1918. 

Pvt. 113th Engrs. 2d Prov. Regt. Trained at 

Vancouver Barracks. Mustered out February 

1. 1919. at Camp Dcdge. 

FOWEI.!., AI.BERT I.. 

Iiinn Grove 
Born November 29. 1X92. Enl. .liily 26. 191S. 
Sgt. Co. G, Replm. Inf. Trained at Camp 
Gordon: at H. C. O. School at Camp Gordon. 
Mustered out December 23, 1919. 

FRESTON, DAVID E. 
Storm Iiake 
Born July 27, 1894. Enl. November 14, 1917. 
Fireman 2d-cl. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. 
broke shoulder and had operation for appendi- 
citis while in service, was granted medical 
discharge as permanently disabled. Mustered 
out November 1, 1918. 

FRESTON, 'WII.I.IAM JEROME 
Storm Iiake 

Born July 5. 1892. Enl. July 10, 1917. Pvt. 
Mach. Gun Co. 142d Inf. 36th Div. Trained 
at Cherokee: at Camp Hyatt; at Camp Cody. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA MSTA COUXT^■ 



1 8 



'-^:) 



Sailed from New York on H. M. S. Anchises 
October 13; landed Liverpool October 24. To 
Southampton: to Le Havre. To Le Mans; to 
Clairmont; to Piercy; to Liegners for six 
months. Sailed from Brest on U. S. S. Von 
Steuben May 29; landed Xew York June 6. 
Mustered out at Camp Dodge June 16, 1919. 



QtTICK, WH.I.IAM M. 
Tgee Township 

Born March 20, 18:i7. Knl. June 1. 1918. 
Sgt. Co. A, 5th Training Engrs. Trained at 
Camp Humphreys. Mustered out January 1, 
1919. 

EArES, r.E F-OY A. 

Alt a 
Born Jaunary 23, 1892. Enl. May 5, 1918. 
2d Lieut, assigned to Co. K, 809th Pioneer Inf.; 
later assigned to Co. 65, 17th Bn. 163 D. B.; 
later had charge of Co. 18, 5th Bn. 163d D. B. 
Trained at Camp Dodge; pvt. Co. 2. 4th Offi- 
cers' Training School, 88th Div. Commissioned 
2d Lieut. Inf. V. S. A. August 26, 1918. As- 
signed to first-named organization after re- 
ceiving commission. Mustered out December 
2. 1918. 

RAPER, CLARENCE 
Folaud TownsMp 

Born September 4. 1894. Enl. June 8, 1917. 
Wagoner, Co. A. 7th Engrs. 5th Div. Trained 
at Ft. Leavenworth until February Ih. 1919. 
Sailed from Xew York March 15 on Orduno; 
landed Liverpool March 28. To Winchester; 
To Le Havre, to Montigny; to LeRoy until 
July 15; to St. Die and engaged in battle four 
days; remained in this sector until August 15; 
to St. Mihiel September 12 to 16; near Toul 
for rest; to Argonne sector September 26 until 
November 11; to Luxemberg from November 
20 until July 5, 1919; to Brest. Sailed July 15 
on Rodna; landed New York July 28. To 
Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
August 4. 1919. 

BASMTTSSEN, CHRIS J. A. 
Coon Township 
Born November 18, 1888. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. M, 31th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon until August 24. Sailed from 
Hoboken September 1 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; 
landed Brest September 13. To St. Georges; 
to Verdun front, in raids and held lines until 
November 11; to Neippel until March 23; to 
4th Area. Chambrecourt, March 28; to St. 
Nazaire two Aveeks. Sailed on Knollond May 
18; landed Xew York May 29. To Camp Dix; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 8, 1919. 



RASiaUSSEN, RASMUS A. 
Providence To'wnship 
Born December 1. 1892. Enl. September 20. 
1917. Pvt. Co. C, 9th Regt. 2d Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; Camp Pike. Sailed frojii 
New York June 19; landed Liverpool July 1. 
To Winchester; to Southampton; Cherbourg. 
To St. Aignan; joined 2d Div. July 16 near 
Soissons in attack on July 18 and 19; to Mar- 
bach sector August 9 to 24; St. Mihiel Sep- 
tember 12 to 16; to Base Hosp. No. 30 at 
Clermont September 25 with influenza two 
weeks; rejoined regt. October 25; at Meuse- 
Argonne November 1 to 11; to Beaumont to 
November 17; in Army of Occupation at Ben- 
dorff to outpost thirty miles on other side of 
the Rhine; at Puderback; to Brest. Sailed 
July 23 on Princess ilatoka; landed New York 
August 1. To Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out August 14. 1919. 

REDD, AI.VIN B. 
Sioux Rapids 

Born July 1. 18',i2. Enl. April 14. 1917. 
Baker Ist-cl. Trained at G. L. N. T. S.; to 
New York; on receiving ship at Bay Ridge; 
to U. S. S. Floridan; sailed on Floridan from 
Brooklyn March 14; landed St. Nazaire: to 
Hoboken; to St. Nazaire; to Brooklyn: to St. 
Nazaire; to Hoboken: to Bordeaux; to Brook- 
lyn — all on transport duty. Mustered out at 
G. L. N. T. S. August 14, 1919. 

REDD, EDWARD DEW^EY 
Sioux Rapids 

Born February 19, 1900. Enl. April 20. 1917. 
Trained at G. L. N. T. S.: trans, to Ports- 
mouth; to V. S. S. Texan; to U. S. S. Pennsyl- 
vania: to U. S. S. North Dakota; to receiv- 
ing ship at Norfolk; to Philadelphia; sailed 
on English transport Olympic from Hoboken 
June 23: to Southampton June 30; to Queens- 
town: to Inverness Base No. 18; to U. S. S. 
Brandenburg; to U. S. S. Louisville; to El 
Oriente (2 trips from Hoboken to Bordeaux 
and return); two trips from Newport News 
to Brest and return; to Philadelphia. Mus- 
tered out Septembe 25. 1919. 

REDENBAUGH, SIANSON S. 
Storm Iiake 

Born January 17, 1896. Enl. May 17. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 40th Replm. Regt. Engrs. Trained 
at Washington Baracks; Camp Merritt. Sailed 
September 1; landed Liverpool September 13. 
To Winchester; Southampton; Cherbourg. To 
Angers. Dijon, Celmen, Argonne and A'erdun 
sector; in front lines two weeks; joined 90th 
Div. on 11th of November: to Romagne; to 



1 86 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



Brest, Sailed January 5: landed New York 
January 24. Mustered out February 14. 1919. 
at Camp Dodge. 

REDFIEIiS, J. MII.I.I:R 

Newell 

Born August 19, 1899. Enl, June 1, 1918. 

Midshipman. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Class 

of 1922, Trained at Annapolis; at Marion 

Institute. Ala. Still in service at Annapolis. 

REDING, ARCHIi: F. 

Newell 
Born April 5. 1895. Enl. July 22, 1918. In- 
specting sgt, Co, B, No. 312 M. T, C, Trained 
at Camp Mabray; had passed examination for 
commission on November 11, but it was not 
granted. Ten months foreign service. Landed 
Brest. Stayed there short time and sent to 
Bordeaux; at Motor Inspection Park where 15 
of company passed 18,000 trucks and touring 
cars; June IT he and 304 more of his unit were 
transferred to Motor Park at St, Sulpice do- 
ing transportation for Hdqrs, of Base Sec- 
tion No, 2. July 22 was ordered to report to 
U, S. for discharge. Mustered out at Camp 
Dodge August 26, 1919. 

REED, CI.ARENCE E. 

Stonn Iiake 
Born October 19, 1891. Enl, July 14. 1917. 
Wagoner Co, D, 109th Amm, Train, 34th Div, 
Trained at State Pair Grounds with Co, F, 
Iowa Amm, Tr, Motor Section, July 23 to Sep- 
tember 25; at Camp Cody 11 months in Co. 
D, 109th Amm, Tr, 34th Div,; to Chicago; 
with convoy of inotor trucks to Camp Rari- 
tan; to Camp Dix, Sailed from Hoboken 
on U. S, S, Olympic October 17; landed 
Southampton October 24, To Cherbourg 
October 26, To Bordeaux October 29 to June 
10. 1919. in M. T. C, service. Sailed on U, S. 
S, lowan June 10; landed Philadelphia June 22. 
To Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge, Mustered out 
June 28, 1919, 

REEDER, H, T. 

Alts 
Born July 31, 1890. Enl. August 2. 1918, 
Pvt. 28th Co, 22d Office, Q, M, C, Trained at 
Camp Johnston Ave months; to Camp Dodge, 
After two weeks training at Camp Johnston 
was trans, to 22d Training Co. Mustered out 
January 11, 1919, 



Vista College, Storm Lake, Iowa, Mustered 
out December 14, 1918, 

REESE, HENRV E. 

Alta 
Born September 14, 1895. Enl, February 23, 

1916, Musician Ist-cl, Trained at San Fran- 
cisco for nve months; to Norfolk, Va,. Septem- 
ber 8; on battleship Wyoming November 25, 
1917; to Orkney Islands; joined British Fleet 
and co-operated with British Fleet during 
period of war; to Scotland; to England; was 
with Allied Fleets when the German Imperial 
Fleet surrendered; met the U. S. S. George 
Washington with President Wilson on board 
and escorted ship into Brest. Sailed from 
Brest for U. S, December 14; landed New 
York December 26, 1918, Enlistment expires 
February 23, 1920, 

REESE, JOHN E. 
Nokoiuis Township 
Born February 9, 1893, Enl, September 22, 

1917, Sgt, Co. P, 316th Engrs, 91st Div. 
Trained at Camp Lewis ten months; to Camp 
Mills, Sailed from New York July 6 on Ar- 
meck; landed Liverpool July 20, To France, 
at St, Mihiel September 11 to 16; at Meuse- 
Argonne .September 26; at 1st Station for 
Army of Occupation; to Brussels; to St. Na- 
zaire. Sailed April 6; landed Hoboken April 
23. To Camp Merrit; to Ft. D, A, Russell, 
Mustered out April 29. 1919, Received the 
D, S, C for extraordinary heroism in action at 
Audenarde, Belgium. November 1, 

REESE, PETER W. 

Alta 
Born November 2. 1887. Enl. April 15, 1917. 
Musician 2d-cl, Trained at San Francisco in 
Naval Training Band for sixteen months; to 
Columbia University six weeks; then promoted 
to machinist's mate of the Ist-cl.; assigned to 
Submarine Chaser No, 250; did patrol duty off 
New England coast and convoy duty to trans- 
port ships. Mustered out at Submarine Chaser 
Base, New London, Conn.. March 31, 1919, 

REESE, THOMAS FI.OYD 
Ziinu Grove 

Born December 23, 1S9X. Knl. September, 

1918, Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena 
Vista College, Storm Lake. Iowa, Mustered 
out December 13, 1918, 



REESE, ARTHUR FRANK 

Iiinn Grove 
Born September 2, 1899, Enl, October 11, 
1918, Pvt. S, A, T, C. Trained at Buena 



REFSI.AND, JOHN C. 

Sioux Rapids 
Born Nevember 18, 1888, Enl, July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. H, 316th Regt, 79th Div. Trained 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



187 



at CamiJ Gordon. Sailed from Hoboken August 
30 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed Brest Sep- 
tember 12. To St. Georges two weeks; to' a 
point near Verdun until October 20; into ac- 
tion in Argonne Forest October 22 to Novem- 
ber 8; affected by mustard gas and sent to 
hosp. at Bordeaux November 11. Sailed 

December 6 on Moui; landed New York De- 
cember 17. To Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out January 21, 1919. 



BEHNSTROM, ARTHUR R. 

Scott Township 
Born May 12, 1896. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Ist-cl. Co. L, 41st Div. Trained at Camp Gor- 
don one month with Co. D, 4th Replm Regt.; 
to Camp Merritt. Sailed from Hoboken 
August 30 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed 
Brest September 12. To St. Georges; trans, to 
Co. D, 41st Div.; trans, to Railway Transpor- 
tation Corps at Miramas for four months; to 
Camp Marseilles. Sailed June 16 on Italian 
steamer America; landed Hoboken July 2. To 
Camp Mills; to CamiJ Dodge. Mustered out 
July 7, 1919. 



REKNSTROM, REUBEN A. 
Elk Township 

Born February 26, 1897. Enl. September 5, 
1918. Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. M, 87th Inf. 19th Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge; engaged in demobili- 
zation work at Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
October 17, 1919. 



REICHARDT, WUiSIER 

Providence ToTvnship 
Born March 23, 1900. Knl. October 11, 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista Col- 
lege, Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered out Decem- 
ber 13, 1918. 



RICHTER, CARI.OS A. 

Grant Township 

Born May 10, 1890, Enl. August 26. 1918. 
Sergeant to Major, 6th Div. Trained at Camp 
Grant at Hdqrs. Suffered serious attack of 
influenza. Mustered out September 28, 1919. 



REIS, ARTHUR T. 
Providence Township 

Born December 23, 1887. Enl. July 18, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. 78, 6th Regt. 2d Div. Marine Corps. 
Trained at Paris Island. Sailed overseas, Octo- 
ber 23; landed Brest. To Luxemburg in Army 
of Occupation. 



REYNOI.DS, JOHN FRANITLIN 
Storm Iiake 

Born January 18. 1885. Enl. May 14. 1917. 
Captain Co. A, 504th Engrs. Trained at Ft. 
Shelling in Officers' Training School; to Ft. 
Leavenworth; to Camp Devens; to Camp Mer- 
ritt, where he helped to organize the 504th 
Engrs. Commissioned a 1st Lieut. July 5, 
1917; promoted to Captain May 12. 1919. Sailed 
from Camp Merritt November 25 on U. S. S. 
transport Tenondores; landed St. Nazaire De- 
cember 10. To Is-sur-Tille December 21; to 
March 1; on leave to Ireland; to Is-sur-Tille 
for trip along line of battle from Toul to 
Verdun; through Argonne Forest; back through 
St. Mihiel; l.-ft Is-sur-Tille May 2; to Le Mans; 
to Brest. Sailed May 28 on President Grant; 
landed Boston June 9. To Camp Devens; to 
Camp Dodge, Mustered out July 17. 1919. 

REYNOI.DS, WINCHESTER EN(tIi£BERT 
Storm Itake 

Born May 3, 1887. Enl. December 14, 1917. 
1st Lieut. Co. B, 313th Engrs. 88th Div. 
Trained at Ft. Snelling; to Camp Dodge; to 
Camp Lee. Promoted from pvt. to master 
engineer, to 2d Lieut., to 1st Lieut, Time in 
service spent in training replacement troops 
and later regular troops; at port of embarka- 
tion when armistice was signed. Mustered 
out January 28, 1919. 

RICE, EVERETT E. 

Hayes Township 
Born December 29, 1895. Enl. December 4, 
1917. Coxswain, U. S. Navy. Trained at G. L. 
N. T. S. until March 1. 191S; sent to the U. 
S. S. Commodore at Chicago for patrol duty; 
to New York Navy Yard; trns. to the U. S. 
S. Mongolia, attached until September 2, 1919; 
one of hands was crushed and he was in hosp. 
until trans, from Brooklyn Hosp. to Greys 
Perry Hosp.; trans, to Philadelphia for duty at 
Navy Yard; to G. L. N. T. S. Mustered out 
October 10, 1919. Made 13 round trips to 
France. 

RICE, GEORGE BASII. 
Storm Iiake 

Born February 23, 1896. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Sgt. Co. A, 383d Inf. 96th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon: Camp Wadsworth. Mustered 
out at Camp Dodge December 31, 1918. 

RICE, NORMAN BERYI, 
Storm Iiake 
Born April 12, 1898. Enl. October 7, 1918. 
Cadet S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista Col- 
lege, Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered out Decem- 
ber 13, 1918. 




Nokomis Township 



Ii flu- l;..l.ai 
Nokomis Township 



i-lanw <'l\«i.' kohl. Ill: 
Newell 



lliiyh ('(-(Iric Koherts 
Storm Lake 




Guy Thomas Uoberts 
Storm Lake 



Homer A. Roberts 
Coon Township 



Oren McKinley Roberts 
Storm Lake 



Fred J. Robinson 
Storm Lake 




Ralph W. Robinson Virgil Lewis Robinson 

Storm Lake Alta 



William S. Robinson 
Storm Lake 



Orville B. Rogers 
Newell 





Alexander N. Romstad Martin Francis Resell John D. Rosenhrook 

Truesdale Sioux Rapids Storm Lake 



Hawley Rose 
Storm Lake 




l\'nr Lewis llowlands 
Alta 



Ole A. Ru.sley 
Sioux Rapids 



Ralph 11. Ruth, iford 
Storm Lake 



Otto S. Rj-stad 
Barnes Township 




■ 




E 


. «r^.3%^"' 


■ 


Bf-^^P^P^ • 




Samuel Rystad 
Barnes Township 



John K. Salton 
Poland Township 



Charles A, Samsel 
Storm Lake 



Ray Byron Samuels 
Storm Lake 



I go 



HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA MSTA COUXTY 



RICHARDSON, HERBERT WESI.EY 

Storm Iiafce 

Born October 29, 18;i5. Enl. December 13. 

1917. Sgt. 67th F. A. Med. Corps. Trained 

at Ft. Riley. Mustered out Deconiber 31, 191s. 

RIGDON, CI.IFFORS 

Alta 
Born September 7, 1897, Enl, June 7, 1918. 
Seaman 2d-cl. Trained at G. L. N. T. S.; on 
U. S. S. Haushon, S. P. 517. Mu.stered out at 
New York April 18, 1919. 

RIGDON, ROY 

Alta 
Born January 26, 1896, Enl, July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A, 312th Machine Gunner.s, 79th Div. 
Trained at Camp Gordon with Co. C, 4th 
Replm. Regt.; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from 
New York August 29; landed Brest September 
12. To St. Georges; to Verdun front; Geni- 
court; to Gignacourt; to Denands; to Rima- 
court; to Georges; to St. Nazaire. Sailed on 
U. S. S. Te.xan May 15; landed Philadelphia 
May 29. To Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge. Mus- 
tered out June 11, 1919. 

RILEY, DANIEI, A. 
Xiincola Township 

Born September 25, 1888, p:nl, October 8. 
1917. Sgt. Co, D, 129th Regt, 33d Div. Trained 
at Camp Grant; Camp Logan; Camp Upton. 
Sailed from New York May 10 on U. S. S. Lov- 
ington; landed Brest May 24. To Huppy Area; 
to Eau training sector; June 21 to Amiens 
lines with Australians; to right of Al- 
bert six days; to Ronird Woods; to Moulin-ne- 
Bois Woods; to Toul sector; to Trouville-en- 
Barrois; September 5 to Verdun sector for 
19 days; September 26 to Meuse-Argonne; 
wounded in action September 27; to Souilly; 
to Base Hosp. Xo. 202 Orleans; to Ettlebreck, 
Luxemburg; to Brest, Sailed May 10 on Levia- 
than; landed New York May 24. To Camp 
Merritt; to Camp Grant. Mustered out June 9, 
1919. 

RII.EY, EDWARD J. 
Iiincoln Township 

Enl. December 2, 1917. Sgt. Ist-cl, Trained 
at Camp Johnston; later trans, to Auxiliary 
Remount Depot No. 333 and put in charge of 
civilian employees in construction of camp; 
appointed acting 1st sgt.. promoted to 1st 
sgt. Received part of training at Quarter 
Master School Camp Joseph E. Johnston; 
recommended for OtHcers' Training Camp, Inf. 
Branch, Camp Kearny. Mustered out March 8, 
1919. 



RINGBI.OM, C. T. 
Fairfield Township 

Born June 26, 1889. Enl. July 24, 1918. Sgt. 
Inf. N. A. R. D. Replm. Co. No. 2. Trained 
July 27 to October 6 at Camp Gordon; October 
6 to December 15 at Camp Wheeler; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out December 21, 1918. 

RISVOI.D, CARI. BERNARD 

Barnes Township 
Born January Id. 1894, Enl, July 29, 1918. 
Musician, Engrs, Band. Hdqrs. Co. 212th Regt. 
12th Div. Trained at Camp Forrest one month; 
to Camp Devens from September 1 to February 
1; to CamiJ Dodge. Mustered out February 
8, 1919. 

RISVOI.D, SEI.MER A. 

Scott Township 
Born June 25, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Sailed from New York Septem- 
ber 1; landed Brest September 14. To St. 
Georges; was in Argonne front from October 
24 to November 4; wounded by machine gun 
bullet and taken prisoner b>' the Germans; 
released from German hosp. February 6, 1919, 
Landed New York April 27. October 12. 1919, 
still at Ft, Sheridan, U, S. Gen Hosp. No. 28, 
and probably will be for several months. 

ROBAR, CI.IFTON J. 

Nokomis Township 
Born August 29, 1893. Enl. May 13, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. L. 56th Regt. 7th Div. Trained at 
Camp MacArthur two months; to Camp Mer- 
ritt. Sailed August 3 on Leviathan; landed 
Brest August 11. Went into training at 
Bragualin; one month in Lorraine sector until 
armistice; to Manunville; to Maxie-Surcy; to 
Le Mans; to Brest. Sailed on battleship Genza 
June 16. landed Newport News June 27. To 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out July 5, 1919. 

ROBAR, GARRET D. 

Nokomis Township 
Born April 3, 1898. Enl. October 1, 1918. 
.A.pp. seaman. Naval Reserve, Trained at 
Madison. Wisconsin, three months. Mustered 
out December 22, 1918. 

ROBAR, IRENE (Nurse) 
Nokomls Township 
Born December 29, 1886. Enl. November 8, 
1917. Nurse, Army Nurse Corps. Trained at 
American Red Cross Military Hosp. No. 1, 
Paris; at Base No. 66, Neuf Chateau, France. 
Sailed from New York December 12, 1917; 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



191 



landed Liverpool December 25. To London: 
to Folkstone; to Boulogne December 29. To 
Paris; to Neuf Chateau July IJ); to Chateau- 
Thierry for work with 32d Div. Field Hos]). 
No. 125 and Xo. 127; to Godoigne; to Reddie- 
farm; to Coincy September 1; to Neuf Chateau 
September 15; to St. Nazaire January 11. 
Sailed from St. Nazaire February 6; landed 
New York February 28. Released from serv- 
ice March 5, 191!i. 

BOBBINS, HARRY CI.YDE 

Newell 

Born May 13, ISlil. Knl. February 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Batt. B, 304th F. A. 77th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; to Camp Upton. Sailed from 
New York April 24 on S. S. Leviathan; landed 
Brest May 2. To Bordeaux for training from 
May 10 to July 10; to Baccarat sector July 
12 for 30 days; to Chateau-Thierry from July 
16 to September 26; to Meuse-Argonne from 
September 26 to November 11; to Le Mans; to 
Brest. Sailed April 24; landed New Y'ork, 
made trip on U. S. S. Agamemnon, May 2, 1919. 
Mustered out May 26, 1919. 

ROBERTS, KUGK CEDRIC 

Storm Iiake 
Born July 16, 1898. Enl. October 1, 1918. 
Pvt. Field Artillery, Batt. 8 Obs. OfHcer-s' 
Training School. Trained at Camp Taylor. 
Mustered out December 5, 1918. 

ROBERTS, GUY THOMAS 

Storm I^ake 

Born May 10, 1900. Enl. October 1, 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Iowa State Col- 
lege. Mustered out December 17, 1918. 

ROBERTS, HOMER A. 

Coon Township 

Born December 2, ISinl. Eul. September 5. 
1918. Pvt. 4th Co. 13th Replm. Battalion. 
Trained at Camp Dodge until September 19; at 
Camp Pike until December 9. Mustered out 
at Camp Pike December 9, 1918. 

ROBERTS, OREN McKINIiEY 
Storm Iialce 

Born May 18, 1897. Enl. July 27, 1918. D. 
M. M. A. 2d Regt. Trained at G. L. N. T. S.; 
received greater part of training at Camp 
Dewey, Groat Lakes. Released December 23, 
1918. 

ROBINSON, FRED J. 

Storm liake 
Born December 22, 1897. Enl. April 8, 1917. 
Pvt. Co. M, 168th Inf. 42d Div. Trained at 



Cherokee, Iowa; State Fair Grounds; to Camp 
Mills. Sailed from New York October 18; re- 
turned to LT. S. October 28; sailed again on 
November 14; landed Liverpool. To \Yin- 
chester; to Southampton; to Le Havre. To 
Rimaucourt; to Langres; entered line at Bac- 
carat in Luneville sector February 21. 1918; 
wounded in action March 9 by machine-gun 
bullet through arm; to French Hosp. No. 214 
8 days; to Base Hosi3. No. 31 seven days; to 
lines at Baccarat; to Champagne .July l-l.S; 
gassed and taken to Hosp. No. 15 at Chaumont 
for 17 days; back to company at Chateau- 
Thierry; to St. Mihiel September 12; to Ar- 
gonne October 12; to Sedan November 9; in 
line when armistice was signed; with Army of 
Occupation at Niederzissen, Germany, Decem- 
l5i:-r 16 to Marcli 6; to Niederbreisig; to Brest. 
Sailed on Leviathan April 18; landed New 
York April 26. To Camp Upton; to Camp 
Dodge. Wlas decorated in France with croix 
de guerre. Mustered out May 17, 1919. 

ROBINSON, RAI.FH W. 

Storm Ifalie 
Born May 31, 1901. Enl. March 18, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Hdq. 14th Regt. unassigned. Trained 
at Ft. Logan and Ft. Sill. 

ROBINSON, VIRGII. I.EWIS 

Alta 
Born March 15, 1898. Enl. July 10. 1917. 
Carpenter's mate 2d-cl. Trained at G. L. N. 
T. S. ; after three months of seaman train- 
ing toolf up radio work until March. 1918; 
then took up carpenter work; left G. L. N. T. S. 
October 16 for Morehead City, N. C, to con- 
truct a naval air station; January 15 ordered 
to Norfolk; to receiving ship; went aboard 
V. S. S. New Hampshire May 7 for transport 
duty. Sailed for Brest May 20; started back 
June 10 with 1200 troops; arrived Norfolk 
June 21. On June 23 sailed for Philadelphia 
Navy Yard for repairs which were in course 
of completion when this record was compiled. 

ROBINSON, WIIiI-IAM S. 

Storm Iiake 
Born October 25, 1896. Enl. July 18, 1918. 
Fireman 3d-cl. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. Mus- 
tered out January 17. 1919. 

ROGERS, ORVII.IiE B. 

Newell 

Born March 13, 1897. Enl. October 11, 1918. 
Pvt. Chemical Warfare Service. Trained at 
American University Exp. Station; was in Gas 
Mask Research Section of Research Div.; was 
commended by Major A. C. Fielder for services 
in poisonous gas research. Mustered out 
December 16, 1918. 



1 92 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



ROMSTAD, ai.i:xani>i:r n. 

Truesdale 

Born April 30. ISilS. Enl. February 26, 1918. 
Corp. on Detached Service. Trained at Camp 
Dodge with 33d Regt. Engrs.; at Camp Deven.s 
four months. Sailed June 30 on Calamorces; 
landed Brest July 12. To Rimacourt one 
month; to Bazoilles two months; to Neuf 
Chateau two months; to Alongves six months; 
to Brest. Sailed June 21 on U. S. S. Montana; 
landed Brooklyn June 30, 1919. To Camp Mer- 
ritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out July 7, 
1919. 

ROSE!.!., MARTIN FRANCIS 

Sioux Rapids 
Born March 10, 1892. Enl. September 4, 
1918. Corp Co. C, 57th Inf. 40th Div. Trained 
at Camp Wadsworth. Was overseas; saw ac- 
tive" service; was gassed; seven months over- 
seas service. Mustered out April 28. 1919. 



ROWIiANSS, IVOR LEVTZS 

Alta 
Born May 13, 1899. Enl. May 10, 1918. Sgt. 
Co. 5. Signal Corps, Aviation Section. Trained 
at Ft. Logan; at Kelly Field; at Garden City, 
N. Y. Sailed October 27 from New York; 
landed Liverpool November 8. At rest camp 
Knotty Ash; to Codford; to the Langnure Aero- 
dcmie 35 Eaton Place, London; assigned to work 
on wrecking crew at Port Junction Flying 
Field. Sailed for U. S. November 22 on Lap- 
land; landed New Y'ork December 3. Mustered 
out December 20, 1918. 

RUSI-EY, OI.I: A. 

Sioux Rapids 

Born May 22, 1891. Enl. September 19, 1917. 

2d Lieut. Inf. U. S. A. with Co. A, 10th Bn. 

I. R. C. Trained at Camp Dodge. Mustered 

out December 7, 1918. 



ROSENBROOK, JOHN D. 

Storm Iiake 
Born June 13, 1895. Enl. April 26, 1918. 
Corp. Co. M, 359th Inf. SSth Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; to Camp Upton. Sailed from 
New York Augu.st 9 on Olympic; landed South- 
ampton August 16. To Le Havre, October 18. 
To Alsace-Lorraine front seven days before 
company moved up: did guard duty at Hecken; 
near Metz at time of armistice; in spring of 
1919 filled trenches in France. Sailed from 
St. Nazaire May 19; landed New York May 30. 
To Camp Merritt. Mustered out at Camp Dodge 
June 11. 1919. 

ROSENE, NEI.S IVI. 
Marathon 
Born November 1. 1889. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. C, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon until August 25. Sailed from 
New York September 1 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; 
landed Brest September 12. To St. Georges 
until October 1; to Verdun sector October 25; 
took over trenches October 27; in Argonne 
AVoods until armistice; to Etray November 13 
to December 7; to Base Hosp. No. 115; left 
Hosp. January 26; to Casual camp at St. 
Aignan; to Brest. Sailed on U. S. S. Hunting- 
ton March 12; landed New York March 23. To 
Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
April 2, 1919. 

ROWE, HAWI.EY 
Stonu I>ake 

Born August 22, 1890. Enl. September 19, 
1917. Sgt. to Major, Auxiliary Remount No. 
322. Q. M. C. Trained at Camp Dodge 18 
months. Mustered out March 17, 1919, 



RITWE, GEORGE H. 

Marathon 
Born January 14, 1897. Enl. April 30, 1918. 
Pvt. Dental Co. No. 1, Medical Enlisted Re- 
serve Corps, Med. Corps. Trained Camp 
Greenleaf; at Ft. Oglethorpe. Mustered out 
December 16. 1918. 

SUWE, HEI7RY H. 33,. 
Marathon 
Bern January 5, 1899. Enl. October 1, 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained in S. A. T. C. Band 
Iowa State University. Mustered out Decem- 
ber 13, 1918. 

RUTHERFORD, RAIiFH R. 
Stonu Iiake 

Born September 8, 1896. Enl. June 25, 1917. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Hdq. Co. 168th Inf. 42d Div. Trained 
at Cherokee, Iowa; at State Fair Grounds; to 
Camp Mills. Sailed on U. S. S. President Grant 
October 18, 1917; returned to Port October 28; 
re-embarked November 24 on English ship 
Celtic; landed Liverpool. To Winchester; to 
Le Havre. To Rimacourt; to Langres; to 
Baccarat; to Lorraine front; to Champagne 
front July 15 to 20; at Chateau-Thierry July 
20 to August 5; to St. Mihiel September 12 to 
26; in battle of Argonne October 12; to Lune- 
ville front; wounded; to hosp.; returned within 
four weeks to company. Mustered out April 
26, 1919. 

RYSTAD, OTTO S. 

Barnes Township 
Born November 9, 1893. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Hda. Co. 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained 



HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA MSTA COUNTY 



193 



at Camp Gordon until August 27. Sailed 
from Hoboken August 30 on U. S. S. Platts- 
burg; landed Brest September 12. To St. 
Georges September 19 to October 2; to avia- 
tion camp near Verdun sector until October 27; 
joined 79th Div. and went to Meuse sector of 
Verdun front; October 29 in offensive at Ver- 
dun, there until November 11; held line until 
December 27; to Heippes December 27; 
to Orquavaux by march, arrived April 2, re- 
mained there until May 2; to Clisson; to St. 
Nazaire. Sailed May 16 on U. S. S. Texan; 
landed Philadelphia May 29. To Camp Dix; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 10, 1919. 

RYSTAD, SAMUEI. 
Barnes Township 
Born November S, 1S97. Kill. .July 29. 191S. 
Pvt. in 128th Engrs. Trained at Camp For- 
rest two months; transferred to casual outfit 
and sent to Camp Upton. Sailed from New 
York on U. S, S. George Washington Septem- 
ber 30; landed Brest October 13. To Angers 
training camp October 25 to November 3; to 
Giavis; to Issoudun from time of armistice 
until April 29, 1919; to Ordy; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed June 30 on Henderson; landed New York 
July 12. To Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out July 21. 1919. 

SAIiTON, JOHN B. 

Poland Township 
Born October 7, 1894. Knl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt., unassigned, in Inf. Trained at Camp Gor- 
don until October 20 in Replm. Co. and Non- 
commissioned Officers' School; at Camp 
Wheeler from October 21 until December 15. 
Mustered out December 21, 1918. 

SAMSEI., CHABI.es a. 

Stonn liake 

Born January 22. ISSS. Enl. Jum- 24, 191s. 
Pvt. Co. I, 349th Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; at Camp Upton. Sailed from 
Hoboken August 9 on Olympic; landed South- 
ampton August 16. To Le Havre August 19. 
To Corrombles: to Les Laummes: to Belfort 
September 18; to Mennecourt; to trenches 
October 2 to 28; to Reppe Offermont; to Bel- 
fort; to Bernecourt; to Minorville; to Lu 
Horgue: December 1 to Reffry; May S to De 
Mange; to La Souge; to St. Nazaire. Sailed 
May 19 on Ryndhani; landed Hoboken May 30. 
To Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out June 11. 1919. 

samuei-s, bay bybon 

Stomi liake 

Born December 23, 1888. Enl. April 9, 1918. 
Sgt. 17th Bn. Replm. Depot. F. A., later in 8th 



Corps Artillery Park, 9(lth Division. Trained 
at Wisconsin State University Vocational 
School two months; to Camp Jackson: to Camp 
Wadsworth in 8th Corps Artillery Park, 96th 
Div. until December 6; transferred to Salvage 
Div. Mustered out February fi, 1919. 

SAMUEI.SON, EDGAB MAGNUS 

Ne'well 
Born December 25, 1898. Enl. January 23, 
1919. Seaman, 8th Co. Elec. School. Trained 
at Hampton Roads, Va., at Naval Operating 
Base. Enlisted for four years. 

SAND, ATTGUST LEVIN 
Sioux Bapids 

Born May 25, 1892. Enl. September 20, 
1917. Pvt. Hdq. Co. 315th Kegt. 79th Div. 
Trained at Camp Cody. Was with the 79th 
Div. at Verdun from late in September to 
November 11, under shell Are all the time. 
Mustered out October 13. 1919. 

SANSTEDT, HABBY A. 
Fairfield Township 

Born February 21, 1S9;!. I'^nl. .\pril 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Machine Gun Co. 338th M. G. Bn. 88th 
Div. Trained at Camp Dodge; at Camp Upton. 
Sailed from New York Aug. 6 on Kashmir; 
landed Liverpool August 24. To Winchester; 
to Southampton; to Cherbourg. To Belfort; to 
front lines In Alsace sector October 5 for 14 
days; to Bessencourt; to Toul; near Metz when 
armistice was signed; to Gondrecourt area; 
to St. Nazaire. Sailed on Netherlands; landed 
Newport News June 9. To Camp Hill; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 15, 1919. 

SANSTEDT, OBVILLE E. 
rairfleld Township 

Born July 18, 1895. Enl. September 19. 1917. 
Pvt. Co. G, 38th Inf. 3d Div. Trained at Camp 
Dodge; at Camp Pike; to Camp Merritt 
Sailed on Anselin June 19; landed Liverpool 
July 1. To Southampton; to France July 5. To 
St. Aignan; to Montsmard; to St. Engenewe 
Woods where he joined 38th Inf. July 18, while 
in front lines; to Maizy; to Fismes August 1 
holding trenches; to Maizy; to Mondicourt; 
through Toul to St. Mihiel for attack Septem- 
ber 12 about 15 days; in Argonne; with Army 
of Occupation; to Brest. Sailed August 6; 
landed Hoboken August 23. To Camp Merritt; 
to Camp Dodge. Mustered out August 29, 
1919. 

SCHMIDT, CHBISTIAN M, 
Newell 

Born January 5, 1889. Enl. June 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B. Inf. Trained at Camp Dodge. Mus- 
tered out Jul5- 11, 1918. 




Avigiist Levin Sand 
Sioux Rapids 



Albert 11. tfclimitt 
Maple Valley Township 



Rufus F. Schofield 
Newell 



Henry Scliramm 
Coon Township 




Carl Schultz 
Brooke Township 



John Earl Schwarz 
Storm Lake 



Ida May Schweitzer 
Storm Lake 



Louis C. Schweitzer 
Hayes Township 







-%-^m 



JuM 



AVilliam F. Scliweitzer 


George F. Scott 


Lloyd T. Scott 


Roy U. Sliaefter 


Hayes Township 


Nokomis Township 


Nokomis Township 


Storm Lake 




L'liaiies M. Stiaffer 
Lee Township 



Bert B. Shannon 
Storm Lake 



.Inlin I., Shaniuin 
Storm Lake 



Aubrev DeLoss ShauU 
Storm Lake 





James Kenneth Shaull 
Storm Lake 



Cliarles A. Shewell 
Storm Lake 



Victor B. Shirk 
Linn Grove 



Charles Everett Shoemaker 
Lee Township 




Carl S. Sholander Albert Oren Siefken 

Elk Township Rembrandt 



Carl Hobert Siefkin 
Barnes Township 



Paul Slevers 
Grant Township 



196 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



SCHMITT, AI.BEBT B. 

Maple Valley Township 
Born December 11, 18S0. Enl. September 20. 
1917. Sgt. Quarter Master Corp.s, Reclama- 
tion Co. Trained at Camp Dodge with Co. A. 
350th Inf. 88th Div.; at Camp Pike with 347th 
Inf. S7th Div.. later transferred to Military 
Police; to Q. M. C; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out March 5, 1919. 



SCHRAMM, KENRV 
Coon Township 
Born March 30, 1894. Enl. April 2. 1918. 
Pvt. Hdq. Troop, 3d Army Corps, veteran 
corps of the A. E. P. Trained at Camp Dodge 
and Camp Mills. Sailed June 4 on Tennyson 
from Brooklyn: landed London June 21. To 
Winchester; to Soutliampton; crossed chan- 
nel June 25; landed Le Havre June 26. To 
Bains-les-Bains. joined the 3d Army Corps; 
to Remiremont; to Meaux July 14. to take 
part in the Aisne-Marne battle; operated under 
French at Soissons offensive; was in tliree 
major offensi\-es: Aisne-Marne, Oise and 
Meuse-Argonne; on Verdun sector Seiitember 
10 to 26; at Romagne when armistice was 
signed; to Dun-sur-Meuse; to Longuyon; to 
Longwy; to Luxemburg; to Linster; Echite- 
mach; to Kilburg; to Daun; to Polch; to 
Noiiwied December 15 to July 15, with Army rf 
Occupation; to Aix-la-Chapelle; to Liege; to 
Xamur; to Charleroi; to Amiens; to Rouen; to 
Le Mans: to Rennes; to Brest. Sailed on 
Finland July 24; landed Hoboken August 4. 
To Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out August 13, 1919. 



SCKUI.TZ, CAB£ 

Brooke Township 
Born December 4, 1895. Enl. May 26. 1918. 
Corp. Co. A, 352d Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge t^vo and one-half months; to 
Camp Mills. Sailed from New York August 
14; landed Liverpool August 28. To Gendi- 
court. Was at Gendicourt five months; to 
Brest. Sailed May 20 on Konicicus; landed 
Newport News June 3. To Camp Dodge. Mus- 
tered out June 13, 1919. 



SCHWARTZ, JOHN EARI. 

Storm Iiabe 

Born July 15, 1893. Enl. June 17, 1918. 
2d Lieut. Batt. F. 38th Art. C. A. C. Trained 
at Ft. Monroe; to Ft. Adams; to Camp Abra- 
ham Eustis; to Camp Stewart; to Ft. Wads- 
worth; to Ft. Hamilton. Mustered out Decem- 
ber 19, 1918. 



SCHWEITZER, IDA MAY (Nurse) 
storm I^ake 

Born January 14. 1893. Enl. March 25, 1918. 
Nurse, U. S. A. N. C. Trained at Camp Devens. 
Sailed from New York July 29 on S. S. Wilmer 
Castle; landed Liverpool. To Southampton; 
crossed the Channel to Le Havre. To Paris; 
to Camp Man-sur-Allser; Base Hosp. Center 
No. 14 for six months: to Base Hosp. No. 103 
six months; to Brest. Sailed July 14 on Rot- 
terdam; landed Hoboken July 22. Released, 
but subject to call, July 22, 1919. 



SCHV^EITZER, I.OUIS C. 
Hayes Township 

Born May 13, 1891. Enl. July 25, 1918. 
Pvt. Casual Co. No. 1349. Trained at Camp 
Gordon two and one-half weeks; to Camp 
Merritt. Sailed overseas. Was in the same 
casual comjjany all the time. Mustered out 
May 1. 1919, at Camp Dndge. 



SCHWEITZER, W^ILLIAM P. 

Hayes Township 
Born July 22, 1897. Enl. August 26, 1917. 
Pvt. 109tH Supply Train. Trained at Camp 
Cody ten months; transferred to Q. M. Supply 
Train: to Detroit. Michigan: did convo>' work to 
Baltimore one month; one trip from Cleve- 
land, Ohio, to New York; to Camp Dix one 
month. Sailed from Hoboken with 109th Sup- 
ply Train; landed Southampton. Did convoy 
work out of St. Nazaire; to Le Mans; to Cob- 
lenz from St Nazaire for nine months. Sailed 
on S. S. DeKalb from St. Nazaire; landed 
Newijort News. To Canip Dodge. 



SCHOFIEZ.D, RITFTTS S. 

Newell 
Born December 17, 18;i2. Enl. February 24, 
1918. Cook Co. K, 139th Inf. 35th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; at Camp Douglas. Sailed 
from New York on City of Brisbane April 26: 
landed England. To France. In British re- 
serve back of firing line in Belgium two 
months; to Alsace-Lorraine, held front lines 
from July 18 to August 18, without relief, 
under heavy shell Are daily; to St. Mihiel 
drive; taken to hosp. September 12; was on 
duty there cooking for 825 sick and wounded 
patients until February; sent back to his co. 
at Le Mans; after two weeks inspection of 
men and equipment was sent to St. Nazaire. 
.Sailed on V. S. S. Matsonia April 13; landed 
Newport News April 24, 1919. Mustered out 
May 5, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



Kj; 



SCOFIEIiD, VTARBEN S. 
Storm Ziake 

Born Septembur 1:;, ls:in. Kill. Aijril 7, 11117. 
Cook. Supply Co. 133d Inf. 34th Div. Trained: 
Enlisted at Cherokee; to Camp Cody: to Camp 
Dix. Sailed from New York October 12 on 
English ship Taltshabis; landed Breckenridge, 
England. To Codford; to Southampton; to 
Le Havre. To Le Mans; to Brest. Sailed 
for U. S. on Leviathan June 28; landed New 
York July 8. To Camp Merritt; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out July 15, 1919. 

SCOTT, GEORGE F. 

Nokonils Township 
Born May 3, 189G. Knl. October 27. 1917. 
Chauffeur. Air Service. Trained: Enl. at Sioux 
City and trained there for three and one-half 
months; to Camp Morrison. Sailed June 29 
on S. S. America; landed Brest July 14. To 
Court Coteciuidan until August 2G; to Toul; 
to St. Mihiel sector; to Argonne front, ad- 
vanced to front until armistice; to Consences 
billets; remained at billets until February 10; 
to Column Bey; to La Belle; February 22 to 
Crevan; through Gennicourt Camp. Sailed 
April 20 on Susiiuehanna; landed Newport 
News May 3. To Camp Stewart; to Camp 
Lee; to Camp r>odge. Mustered out May 
15. 1919. 

SCOTT, LLOYD T. 

Nokoiuis To-nrnship 
Born September 8, 1889. Enl. June 6, 1916. 
Corp. Co. M, 168th Inf. 42d Div. Trained at 
Camp Hyatt; at State Fair Grounds; served 
on border nine months; to Camp Mills. Dis- 
charged at Camp Mills, just before 168th 
sailed for France. Honorable discharge 
granted by reason of disability, October 21, 
1917. 

SHAEFFER, ROY U. 

Stonu Lake 

Born June 22. 1899. Enl. March 22, 1918. 

Pvt. Artillery. Trained at Ft. Logan; sent 

back to Sioux City. Mustered out April 12, 

1918. 

SHAFFER, CHARLES M. 
Lee Township 

Born August 14, 1893. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Machine Gun Co. 316th Inf. 79th 
Div. Trained at Camp Gordon until August 
26. Sailed from Hoboken on U. S. S. Platts- 
burg August 30; landed Brest September 12. 
To St. Georges until October 2; to aviation 
camp in Verdun sector October 29, In offen- 
sive 14 hours; taken prisoner by Germans and 
held in prison camp until November 14; re- 
leased and returned to Casual Co. near Ver- 
dun. Joined rcKimcnt December 5. 191.S. at 



lleville; and put into M. G. Co. Sailed from 
.St. Nazaire on U. S. S. Texas May 16; landed 
Philadelphia May 29. To Camp Dix; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out .lune 1(), 1919. 

SHANirON, BERT B. 

Storm Lake 
Born April 16, 1893. Enl. May 13, 1918. 
Seaman. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. Sailed from 
Hoboken June 15, 1918; arrived Brest June 21. 
Located at Pouillac at U. S. Naval Air Sta- 
tion, a supply station for all naval stations 
in lOurope; planes were shijiped to this sta- 
tion and assembled. Sailed January 12 on re- 
turn to Pelliam Park, New York. Mustered 
out February 14, 1919. 

SHANNON, JOHN L. 
Storm Lake 

Born July 26, 18S2. Enl. June 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Hdq. Co. 33d Inf. Trained at Ft. 
Logan until July 10; to Camp Nichols until 
August 15; at Gatun (Canal Zone) from 
August 22 to February 24; acted as locks 
guard and did patrol duty. Mustered out at 
Cristobal. Canal Zone, February 24, 1919. 

SHARP, LOU B. 

Storm Lake 
Born May 31, 1887. Enl. April 22, 1914. 
1st Lieut. Co. K, 133d Regt. 24th Division. 
Trained at Camp Cody and Ft. Baird. Pro- 
moted to sgt. July 1, 1916; to 2d Lieut. Octo- 
ber 5, 1917; to 1st Lieut, .hinc 19, 1918. Mus- 
tered out January, 1919. 

SHAULL, AUBREY DE LOSS 
Storm Lake 

Born July 30, 1895. Enl. July 14, 1917. 
Corp. Co. B, 109th Ammunition Train, 34th 
Div. Trained at Des Moines; at Camp Cody. 
Sailed from New York on H. M. S. Olympic 
October 17, 1918. landed Southampton Octo- 
ber 24, 1918. To Southampton; to Cherbourg. 
To Camp De Soughe two months; to Camp 
St. Sulpice six months. Sailed from Bor- 
deaux June 10 on U. S. S. lowan; landed Phila- 
delphia June 22. Mustered out at Camp Dodge 
June 28, 1919. 

SHAULL, JAMES KENNETH 
Storm Lake 

Born June 15, 1890. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Corp. Co. C, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Mustered out January 9, 1919. 

SHELLEY, BOONE R. 
Storm Lake 

Born August 22, 1891. Enl. August 22, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon; ordered to Camp Dodge. Mus- 
tered out Januar.y 9, 1919. 




Tiieodore Sievers 
Newell 



Ivan W. Sihrr 
Poland Township 



Niels K. H. Simonsen Marten A. Skibsted 

Newell Newell 




Brisbin Skilos 
Rembrandt 



Ingolf Skogsto 
Sioux Rapids 



Sidney Slagle 
Storm Lake 



Benjamin H. Smith 
Sioux Rapids 




Carleton B. Smith 
Storm Lake 



Gilbert G. Smith 
Sioux Rapids 



Rev. James A. Smith 
Sioux Rapids 



Kenneth M. Smith 
Storm Lake 




Ora F. Smith 
Poland Township 



Paul Matliias Smith William McKinley Smith Itobert M. Smoot 

Sioux Rapids Sioux Rapids Storm Lake 




Joseph Paul Sohni James Sondergaard Waldemar Sundergaard William F. Soilu 

Storm Lake Newell Newell Lincoln Townshij) 





Anton Sorenson 
Newell 



Helmer Ludvic Sorenson 
Alta 



Walter L. Spooner 
Storm Lake 



Amos C. Sprecher 
Storm Lake 



200 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA MSTA COUNTY 



SHEWE!.!., CHARZiES A. 
Storm I^ake 

Born April 22, 1893. Enl. December 8, 1917. 
Pvt. Co. H, A. M. O. R. S. Trained at 
Camp Grant three months; at Camp Hancock 
four months; to Camp Mills. Sailed from 
Hoboken July 9 on Mt. Vernon; landed Brest 
July 18. To Limoges; billeted in monastery 
two months; to Verdun defensive September 
26 to October 16; to Meuse-Argonne until No- 
vember 25; to Verdun sector two weeks; to 
Rehon; to Jarny; to Vintun until 16th of 
May; to Issen to pick up trucks and drive 
them to St. Nazaire; to Gievres with con- 
voy of trucks; to St. Nazaire. Sailed on U. 
S. S. Scranton July 6; landed Brooklyn July 
18. To Camp Merritt; to Camp Sherman. 
Mustered out July 25. 1919. 

SHIRK, VICTOB B. 

I^inu Grove 

Born April 12, 1898. Enl. March 27, 1918. 
Pvt. M. G. Co B, 52d Regt. 18th Div. Trained 
at Camp Travis. Mustered out February 15, 
1919. 

SHOEMAKER, CRARI.ES EVERETT 
Iiee Townslilp 

Born December 6, 1895. Enl. July 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. B, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon four weeks. Sailed from Hobo- 
ken August 30; landed Brest September 12. 
Served in action at Verdun front at edge 
of Argonne Forest; slightly wounded; while in 
action which began October 26 and continued 
for seven days, he received wounds in right 
thigh and knee also in left side, while lying 
wounded was taken prisoner by the Germans 
November 4, released December 1; returned 
to France and was cared for at different 
hospitals. Sailed for U. S. April 21, 1919; 
landed New York April 29, 1919. Mustered 
out May 26, 1919. 

SHOI.ANDER, CARI, S. 

Elk Township 
Born March 27, 1891. Enl. July 29, 1918. 
Pvt. 50th Co. 20th Engrs. Trained at Camp 
Forrest, until December 26. Mustered out at 
Camp Dodge January 6, 1919. 



SIEFKEN, AI,BERT OREN 

Rembrandt 

Born July 13, 1894. Enl June 26, 1918. Pvt. 
Ist-cl. Co. C, 1st Army M. P. Bn. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; at Camp Mills; took train to 
Quebec. Went aboard English ship Demos- 
thenes; sailed down St. Law^rence River to Gulf 



of St. Lawrence; to Camp Breton. N. S. Sailed 
with convoy of 14 ships carrying 88th Div. men 
on August 12 from New York; landed Liver- 
pool August 31. To Knotty Ash; to South- 
ampton; to Le Havre September 5. to 
Semur; to Haricourt; in Alsace sector in Co. 
A. 313th M. P. 88th Div.; transferred to Co. 
C, 1st Army M. P. Bn.; September 24 moved 
near Verdun; to Argonne; to Varennes; to 
Autry at time of armistice; to Bar, on duty 
with 1st Army Hdqrs.; to Coblenz; to Meunahr 
until June 2; to Le Mans; to Brest. Sailed 
in U. S. S. Louisville June 29; landed Hobo- 
ken July 7. To Camp Mills; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out July 14, 1919. 

SIEFKEN, CARI. HOBART 

Barnes Township 
Born March 21, 1897. Enl. August 12, 1918. 
Radio operator, U. S. N. R. F. Trained at 
U. S. Naval Radio School, Harvard University. 
First training at Dunwoody Institute until 
October 31; to Harvard University until Feb- 
ruary 13. Mustered out February 13 at Cam- 
bridge. Mass. 

SIEVERS, FAUI. 
Grant Township 

Born May 12, 1897. Enl. September 5, 1918. 
Pvt. 3d Bn. 163d D. B. Trained at Camp 
Dodge; Camp Cody. Mustered out at Camp 
Dodge December 20, 1918. 

SIEVERS, THEODORE 

Newell 
Born June 9, 1896. Enl. August 14, 1918. 
Corp. Ambulance Unit No. 62, Med Corps. 
Trained at Ames Training Detach.; Camp 
Crane. Mustered out March 1, 1919. 

SII.VER, IVAN W. 
Poland To'wnship 
Born March 1, 1897. Enl. July 17, 1916. 
Pvt. Batt. A, 8th or 53d C. A. C. of the Regular 
Army. Trained at Jefferson Barracks until 
August 20, 1916; to Ft. Howard until Feb- 
ruary 25, 1917; to Fisherman's Island, Vir- 
ginia, until July 10; returned to Ft. Howard ; to 
Ft. Adams. Sailed from New York on Pamonia 
August 23; landed Liverpool Aug. 31. To South- 
ampton; to Le Havre in September. At Camp 
Mailley from September. 1917, to March, 1918; 
to Champagne front from March until April 
10; to Toul sector; to Verdun sector May 15 
to June 15; to R. R. Artillery Hdqrs. until 
February. 1919; to Bordeaux. Sailed May 5 on 
Arizona; landed New York IMay 21. To Camp 
Mills; given si.\ty-day furlough. Period of 
enlistment not expired when this record was 
compiled. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



20I 



SIMONSEN, NIEI-S K. H. 
Newell 

Born Xovembi'i- 2G. is'.r2. Enl. February 24, 
1918. Pvt. 45th Co. 20th Engrs. Trained at 
American University. Sailed from Ne^v Yorl^ 
May 10; landed Brest May 23, sailed on U. S. 
S. President Lincoln, which was sunk on the 
homeward bound voyage. Detailed immediately 
back of Verdun sector; to Rennes for railroad 
and sawmill construction; did same work in 
Alsace-Lorraine. Sailed from Bordeaux on S. 
S. Luckenbach May 17; landed New York June 
1, Mu.stered out July \). 1919. 



SKIBSTED, MARTIN A. 

Newell 
Born January IS, IS'.il. F^nl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. H, 129th Inf. 33d Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Sailed from New York on 
U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed Brest September 
12. To Le Mans; to St. Miliicl front from 
October 18 to November 11; on front lines 
four days; over top in one big engagement; 
left outfit at Luxemburg; to Hosp. No. 60 — bad 
arches and lung trouble; to St. Nazaire; to 
Brest. Sailed on U. S. S. Leviathan February 
5, landed New York February 12. Mustered 
out February 25, 1919. 



SKrLES, BBISBIN 

Rembrandt 
Born February 6, 1893. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. M, 7th Inf. 3d Div. Trained: Co C, 
4th Replm. at Camp Gordon. Sailed from U. 
S. August 30; landed Brest Scptemlier 12. 
Joined 3d Div. Oct. 29; served in defensive 
sector. Second Army Area October 29 to No- 
vember 11; with Army of Occupation Decem- 
ber 1 to August 10, 1919. Mustered out 
August 27, 1919. 

SKOGSTO, IN&OI.F 

Sioux Rapids 

Born September 11, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Trained at Camp Gordon. Pvt. Co. C, 4th 
Replm. Regt. Mustered out December 7. 1918. 



SI.AGI.E, SIDNEY 
Storm Iiake 
Born October 6, 1896. Enl. July 12, 1918. 
Has remainder of four yeai-s to serve in U. S. 
N. R. F., Aviation Corps, before receiving 
discharge. Trained: Went through detention 
with Co. 579, 14th Regt., at Camp Boone, G. L. 
N. T. S. Transferred to following companies 
in the 15th Regt. at New Aviation Camp: 
Co. P, Co. N. Co, A, these being companies 



under instruction on aviation motors, includ- 
ing the Liberty Twelve. Released from duty 
December 24, 1918. 



SMITH, BENJAMIN H. 
Siouz Rapids 

Born April 16, 1889. Enl. June 5, 1917. 2d 
Lieut. 112th Hdqrs. M. P. Vet. Corps, 37th 
Div. Trained at Camp Perry June 5 to Septem- 
ber 5. 1917; Camp Sheridan September 10 to 
June 12, 1918. Sailed on Australian ship 
Lester June 28; landed Liverpool. To Le Havre, 
July 12. To Burmont; to Lorraine sector July 
25 to September 1; to Meuse-Argonne offensive 
September 25 to October 9; to Thiaucourt in 
the St. Mihiel sector October 10 to 18; to St. 
Julian October 22; participated in offensive at 
Ypres-Lys from October 26 to November 11; 
h-ft Div. February 22 and went to St. Aignan 
until March 17; transferred to 21st F. A. at 
Dedenlange, Luxemburg, until April 29; trans- 
ferred to 313th Sanitary Train. Sailed from 
St. Nazaire May 22 on Queen of Nether- 
lands; landed Newport News June 4, 1919. 
Mustered out at Camp Grant July 1, 1919. 



SMITH, CARIETON B. 

Storm Iiake 
Born June 15, 1895. Enl. August 2, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. 22d Ordnance Guard. Trained at 
Syracuse. N. Y.. six weeks; to Portsmouth, at 
ammunition base on guard duty. Mustered 
out March 12, 1919. 



SMITH, GII.BERT G. 

Sioux Rapids 

Born April 16, lS8;i. Enl. June 6, 1917. 
Signalman, Ist-cl. Marines. Trained at Mare 
Island until August 25; to Naval Station at 
San Diego until December 21; boarded U. S. S. 
Cincinnati December 21. did guard duty patrol- 
ling coast along Central America until Febru- 
ary 8, 1918; through Panama Canal Zone to 
Bahia. Brazil; patrolled South American coast 
off Bahia until May 25; to Rio de Janeiro for 
month's patrol duty; returned to Virgin Islands 
July 3; to Key West to join American Patrol 
Detach.; to Charleston October 5; to Tampa, 
Florida; patrolling coast of Cuba and entered 
Havana Harbor February, 1919; to New Orleans 
March 22; transferred from ship to barracks 
at New Orleans March 23 to July 14, 1919. 
Died in the Naval Hosp. at Ft. Lyons. Novem- 
ber 26. 1919. 

(Word was received just before going to 
press that Gilbert G. Smith died at Naval 
Hospital at Ft. Lyons, November 26.) 



202 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



SMITH, REV. JAMES A. 
Sioux Rapids 

Born July 12, 1890. Knl. March 17, 1918. 
Army Divisional Chaplain. Served on Board 
of Examiners who investigated cases of con- 
scientious objectors: also chief assistant chief 
psychological examinations. Trained at Camp 
Dodge and Camp Fremont. Promoted from 
brigade chaplain to divisional chaplain. Sailed 
from Hoboken October 2S: landed Brest No- 
vember 9. To Jouzac; to St. Gensis; to Put- 
tanezen; poisoned November 30; sent to 
Officers' Casual Camp at Brest; to Naval Ba.se 
Ho.sp. No. 1 December 20; operated upon for 
appendicitis December 21. Sailed on XJ. S. S. 
President Grant January 4 from Brest: landed 
Hoboken January 18 Sent to Hosp. at Ellis 
Island; to Base Hosp. at Ft. Des Moines. Mus- 
tered out February 18. 1919. 

SMITH, KENNETH M. 
Storm Iiake 

Born March 18, 1892. Enl. August 27, 1917. 
1st Lieut. Inf. Transport Engineers. Trained 
at Ft. Snelling, in 2d Reserve Officers Training 
School, commissioned 1st Lieut, of Inf.: to 
Camp Dodge in 163d D. B.; to Co. C. 313th 
Supply Train; Division Exchange Officer, Camp 
Dodge; transferred to Engineers' Training 
Camp, Camp Humphreys July 30. 1918; trans- 
ferred to Engineers' Corps, Highway School, 
Mustered out January 8, 1919. 

SMITH, ORA T. 

Poland Township 

Born January 15. 1893. Enl. February 23, 
1918. Mech. Co. G, 351st Inf. 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge until August 6. Sailed from 
New York August 13 on Scotian; landed Liver- 
pool August 28. Cro-ssed Channel to Cher- 
bourg September 16. To Campey until Sep- 
tember 30; to front of Haute-Alsace offensive 
which lasted from October 12 to 29; to Toul 
sector and held trenches near Pont-a-Mousson 
until armistice was signed; to Gondrecourt 
Area November 29; to Liffoble Grande Decem- 
ber 26 to April 10; to Casual Camp at St. 
Aignan: to Marseilles. Sailed on Europia May 
10; landed New York May 27. To Ft. Sheri- 
dan. Mustered out at Camp Dodge June 23, 
1919. 

SMITH, FAVI. M. 
Sionx Rapids 

Born September 24, 1894. Enl. May 9, 1917. 
Sgt. Ist-cl., Medical Dept. 16th Balloon Co. 
7th Div. Air Service. Trained at Angel Island; 
at Camp Morrison. In reserve at St. Mihiel 
September 4 to 20; active service at Thiaucourt 
September 20 to November 11; with Army of 



Occupation April 20 to July 14, 1919; served 
with American Polish Relief Expedition July 
19 to December 6 — in Poland October 1 to 
December 6, 1919. Mustered out December 
6, 1919. 



SMITH, 'Wn.I.IAM McKINIiEY 
Sioux Rapids 

Born March 1, 1898. Enl. January 24, 1918. 
Sgt. Air Service, 4th Co. 7th Regt. Trained at 
Jefferson Barracks; Camp Hancock; at Camp 
Green. Sailed from New York July 15; landed 
Liverpool July 31. To Southampton August 
1; to Le Havre August 5. To Romorantin; 
the largest air field in Europe, August 8; to 
Orly Field, Paris; to Neufchateau August 26; 
to Meuse-Argonne September 14; to Tricourt 
September 18; to Langres November 7; was 
in Argonne Forest 38 days; to Luxemburg 
November 18; to Coblenz December 16 to July 
22, 1919. 

SMOOT, ROBERT M. 
Storm Ziake 

Born December 31, 1S9S. Enl. June 18. 1915. 
Corp. Co. M, 142d Regt. 36th Div. Trained: 
Enl. at Cherokee, Iowa; to Camp Cody; saw 
service on border during Mexican trouble. 
Sailed from Hoboken August 6; landed Liver- 
pool August 17. To France August 24; 
landed Le Havre. To Le Mans; to Bar-sur- 
Aube; in Meuse-Argonne sector. Sailed from 
Brest May 17; landed in U. S. June 2, 1919. 
Mustered out June 12, 1919. 



SNYDER, SAI.EM 
Brooke Township 
Born September 19, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon until November 5; to Camp 
Shelby until December 22; to Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out December 30, 1918. 



SOHM, JOSEPH PAUI. 
Storm Iiake 

Born December IT, lS;i3. Enl. August 27. 
1917. 2d Lieut. Batt. F, 337th F. A. 88th Div. 
Trained at Ft. Snelling, where he was com- 
missioned 2d Lieut.; reported at Camp Dodge 
December 15, 1917; attached to Batt. F, 337th 
F. A. 88th Div. until January 2, 1918; to 
Camp Jackson May 22; assigned to Batt. C, 3d 
Bn. F. A. Replm. Depot; to School of Fire at 
Ft. Sill for ten-%veeks' officers' course June 
10, was graduated August 23; assigned to 
School of Fire in the Dept. of Material August 
23. Mustered out January 15, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



203 



SONSERGAARD, JAMES 
Newell 

Born June 2, 1896. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. L, lOTth Inf. 27th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Sailed from Hoboken on U. 
S. S. Plattsburg- August 29; landed Brest Sep- 
tember 12. To St. Aignan; to St. Georges; to 
Tours; to DieiJpe; to British sector on Hinden- 
burg Line for seven days — over top three 
times here; to St. Suplet in continual fight- 
ing; took Jean de Merc Ridge and another 
town; to Glissy until November 11. Sailed 
from Brest February 28, on S. S. Amsterdam; 
landed New York, March 9. Mustered out 
March 29. 1919. 

SONDERGAARD, WAI.I>EMAR 
Kewell 
Born July 24, 1891. Enl. July 24. 1918. Pvt. 
Co. H, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from Ho- 
boken on U. S. S. Plattsburg August 30; landed 
Brest September 12. To Tours; to Verdun; to 
Base Hosp. No. 47; to Beaune; to St. Aignan; 
to Brest. Sailed on S. S. Hollandia March 
3; landed Hoboken March 15. To Camp Mer- 
ritt. Mustered out March 25, 1919. 



SORBS, Vni.I.IAM F. 

Storm Iiake 

Born October 20, 1895. Enl. August 28, 1918. 

Pvt. Q. M. C. 17th Co. 2d Regt., placed in 

314th Fire Truck and Hose Co. Trained 

at Camp Funston. Mustered out May 21, 1919. 

SORENSON, ANTON 

Ne-Hrell 
Born May 14, 1893. Enl. April 9, 1918. 
Cook Batt. B, 12th Regt. Artillery. Trained 
at Madison, Wisconsin, Training Dept.; at 
Camp Jackson. Mustered out December 18, 
1918. 

SORENSON, HEI.IHXR I.USVIG 

Alta 
Born October 18, 1890. Enl. July 18, 1917. 
Pvt. Co. D, 43d Inf. 15th Div. Trained at 
Ft. Logan; Ft. Douglas; at Camp Pike; to 
New Orleans for guard duty; to Madisonville, 
La., for guard duty; to Camp Logan for duty 
as guard; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
January 21, 1919. 

SFOONER, EARI. I.. 

Storm Iiake 
Born June 15, 1895, Enl. July 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. G, 313th Ing. 79th Div. Trained at 



Camp Gordon. Sailed overseas in August, 
1918, Saw active service in Verdun. After 
armistice was sent to Condon. 



SFOONEB, 'WAI.TER I.. 
Storm I^ake 

Born May 8, 1897. Enl. September 5, 1918, 
Pvt. in 347th Motor Transport Corps. Trained 
at Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 5, 1919. 

SFRECHER, AMOS C. 

Storm Iiake 
Born November 18, 1895. Enl. July 25, 1918, 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm. Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon. Mustered out December 8, 1918. 

STACY, HARRIS EI.MER 
Sioux Rapids 
Born December 6, 1891. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Co. C, 304th F. S. B. 79th Div. 
Trained at Camp Gordon in Co. D, 4th Replm. 
Regt.; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from New 
York on U. S. S. Plattsburg September 1; 
landed Brest September 14. To Verdun and 
entered line of fighting October 7, was in 
line until November 11; at Verdun, trans- 
ferred to Co. C, 304th F. S. B.; to Souilly; 
to Chaumont; to Tours; to Brest. Sailed 
August 6 on U. S. S. President Grant; landed 
Hoboken August 17. To Camp Merritt; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out September 26, 
1919. 

STAHI., CI.ARENCE 

Albert City 
Born November 27, 1SS9. Enl. September 20. 
1917. Corp Co. C, 313th Inf. Field Signal 
Bn. Trained at Camp Dodge; to Camp Mer- 
ritt. Sailed from New Y'orlv on Bohemia 
August 17; landed Liverpool August 30. To 
Knotty Asli; to Southampton; to Le Havre 
September 4. To Semur; to Hericourt Septem- 
ber 11; to Chassis until September 30; to 
Braeschmont in Alsace sector on October 2; 
to Giromagny; to Bois-le-Lagny from Novem- 
ber 6 to 29; to Menicourt; to HorvlUe; to St. 
Nazaire. Sailed May 19 on Ryndam; landed 
Hoboken May 30. To Camp Merritt; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 11, 1919. 



STAFFORD, FAUIi 
Storm liake 
Born December 15, 1889. Enl. September 
5, 1918. Pvt. Co, M, 20th Regt. 19th Div. 
Trained at Camp Funston; ordered to report 
for guard duty at U. S. Hosp. No. 21 at 
Denver. Colo. Mustered out at Camp Funston 
March 5, 1919. 




Harris Elmer Stacy 
Sioux Rapids 



Clarence R. Stahl 
Albert City 



Ernest Staples 
Alta 



Oscar Albion Steele 
Alta 




Rudolph Steffen 
Storm Lake 



Walter F. Steig 
Storm Lake 



Fred Steinbeck 
Albert City 



Walter Brown Storey 
Storm Lake 




Ernest Fred H. Stout 
Storm Lake 



Williaiu StlcljuluW 

Storm Lake 



Franiis 1. Stringer 
Storm Lake 



Morton JI. Stull 
Storm Lake 




* ii I . ■ > h. .-> I u I - ij 1 . - 1 Dick S u 1 i n ^ 

Providence Township Maple Valley Township 



Ernt- st J. Sundberg 
Linn Grove 



Jolin Arthur Sundberj 
Barnes Township 




David M. Sundeen 
Albert City 



Edwin P. Sundholm 
Marathon 



Cliarles V. Sutlierland 
Storm Lake 



Elmer F. Swanson 
Albert City 




Harrv A. Swanson 
Albert City 



John Bernhard Swanson 
Storm Lake 



Albert Swenson 
Alta 



Anton Ludwig- Swenson 
Fairfield Township 



206 



lOXOK KOIA. Ol' Illl'.XA \ ISTA COL'XT\' 



STAFI.ES, ERNEST 

Alta 
Ttoi'U Koluiiaiy S, ISilT. V,n\. Soptomlior B. 
1!U8. I'vt. I'o. M, 'Jil iMl'. 'rriiiiiinl ;it Tump 
IVhIko. AVus III liil'antfy iifniuilzHtloii lit timo 
<il' tho liilhu>i\/.ii oplili-inlo iit ('iiiii|i IUuIko, liiul 
111 iMiiillmunis (liiys ol" duty on liosplUil lio- 
tiitl i\ss1kii<>i1 to I'lU-ry I'orpsos I'roni tin- \v;inls 
to tlio uiiilortJiUliiif dopiu'tiuont ; roiiuiliulor 
of tliuo 111 sm-vloo spoilt In tiil'iiiitry ililU iiiui 
on Kiiiinl .luty. Miist.ir.l out Juiu- 11, ISUii. 

STEEI.E, OSCAR AI.BION 

Altn 
Uoiii Oi'tolioi- ;i, ISii,"), Kill. Juno 2(>. \»H\. 
I'vt. Oo. M. KiSth Inf. 42(i Olv, Trained lU 
I'luM-okoc. Iowa: at State Kali- (Inninds; at 
Ciunv Mills, Salloil Ootoboi- 13. 1!U7. on ship 
V. S. S, rroslilont tliaiif. lotuinod Ootobor 
2S; salloil soooiul I lino Novonilioi- II; laiuloil 
KnKlaiKl Pooonilioi' 1. To Kraiuo l>ooonilioi' 
II. Tionoli ihity iioai- Haiionvillor; to riiaiii- 
paitno front; at I'hatoau-Tlilorry ; St, Mllilol; 
Ai'Boiiiio; Mouso; Sotlan; witli .\rniy of Ooou- 
pntlon nooombor 3 to April S. 1>M!1. Mus- 
toivd out May L", lIM'.i, Ko-onlistod May '.'. 

unsi. 

STETFEN, RUDOI.PH 
Stoi-ui Iiake 

Horn Soptonilu-r 'Jil. l.ssi!, Knl. ,luly "3. ISMS. 
Sitt. ("o. U. Itli Koplni. Uoftt. Tralnod at 
^''anip tlortlon; onlorod to l^aiiip liodpo. Mus- 
torod out May 2S. !!U!>. 

STEIG. WALTER F. 
Storm Iiak« 

Horn Januiiry I'O. 1SS>3. Knl. July :;i. nMS. 
I'vt. Co, n, Itli Koplm. KoKt . Trained at 
t'ainp tiordon. Mustered out Iieoember 1(>, ISUS. 



Train. Trained at Iowa State CoUoKo; at 
Valparaiso, liid.; at Kt. Sheridan. Mustered 
out l>eoeiiibei' :;r.. IIUS. 



STORY, WALTER BROWTT 

Storm Xjnke 

ISoni .\prll 111. 1S'.I3, Knl. May 'J7. IIUS. SRt, 
lld.i. Co. lull Uii. It;3d I>. n., later traiisforrod 
to Co. 3, Jd Candidate Hn. 1. C. C>. T. S. 
Trained at Caiiiii OodRo; to Camp lirant to 1. 
C. (1. T. S. Musti-rod out .Novoiiibor 30. 
Ill IS. 

STOUT, ERNEST FRED H. 
Storut Xinke 

Horn Juno I'S, ISn;. I';iil. Juno L'S. li>18. 
Maolilnlst l.'d-ol. Navy. Trained on Sub Chaser 
No. 13'.'. San Kranolsoo to San l>loKO, I'allf.; 
to 1lani|itoii Koads. Naval l>poratlii»r Hase. 
Mustered out January H. IIUII. 



STREBEI.OW, WELLIAM 

Storm Iiake 
Horn Soptonibor :!. ISSI. Knl. Kobruary ;". 
1!US. S^l. Siiuadron O. .\viation Servloe. 
Trained at Kl. l.oKan; at Kelly Field; KllinR- 
ton l''Ulil. Muslorod out January 31. llUli. 

STRINGER, FRANCIS I. 
Storm IiAke 

Horn nooombor 7, 1S!I.^. Knl. nooombor 10. 
nil". KnslKii til N. K- t'. Trained at Munl- 
olpal Pier: at Kills Island; at Brooklyn Navy 
Yard; to Hoston reoelvlnic ship; at HiiiKliam 
(Mass.) .\ninuinltlon Oepot; asslttned to Wau- 
kesha for threo-nionths' trip in foreign sorv- 
ioo; to New York; to I'olhuni Hay; to Uttioors' 
Sohool. Coniniissloned KnslKii April 1, ISUS. 
Mustered out May !i. 1»1!>. at Now York. 



STEINBECK. FRED 
A^bsrt City 

Horn February IS. 1s;iS. I'Inl. January ,^. 
1IMS. SKt. Co. :;. .Vvlatlon Servloe. Trained 
at Aviation Field. San .Vntonlo; to Camp Mills. 
Sailed from New York on S. S. Haltio Maroli 
Ifi; landed Klverpool Maroh 2S. To laiyoonibe 
Corner Camp, Knifland; to Camp WInohester: 
to Knotty .\sli. Sailed for f. S. Maroh It. 
Il'lji; landed Uoboken. To Camp JllUs; to 
I'amp noilKo. Mustered out April S, 1!>IS>. 

STOCK, WALTER R. 

Storm Iiake 

Horn Ootober IB. lS;i|. Knl. June 15. I'JIS. 
Corp. Co. V, M. T. C. with 433d Motor Supply 



STULL, MORTON, M, 
Storm IiAke 

Horn May 22. ISIHi. Knl. Soptonibor 21, 
1IM7. Corp Co. H. ISth UoRt. 1st niv.. later 
transferred to Co. M. 11th Hei?t. Bth Dlv. 
Trained at Camii nodtre; at Camp rike: to 
Camp Merrltt. Sailed June S; landed l4lver- 
pool. To WInohester; to Southani|>ton; to 
Ke Havre. To St. .Mitnan: in aollon July 
KS at Seoond Battle of the Mariie; to Toul 
.\UKUst 1; to St. Mlhlel Seiitember l'.'; to 
.■\rKonne Ootober 1; to Hosp. Ootober 10 with 
Intluenra; to duty November 20 with Army 
of Oooupatlon at Ueniloh. I.uxeniburK; to 
SohtfrianKo; to St. AlKnan; to Marseilles. 
Sailed May Ifi; landed New York June 2. To 
Camp Mills. Mustered out June fi. 1S>11'. 



IIOXOR ROLL Ol' liUENA VKS'l'A COl'XTN' 



207 



STURCKI-EB, QII.es I,. 

Providence Towusblp 

Boin July L'C, IX'.il. I-Jiil. .Si!iit.;iMl>or 5, ID 17. 
Sgt. Co, 351, Mobile Laundry Unit, 8!)th DIv. 
Trained at Camp nodge; at Camp MeggH; to 
fJamp Upton. WaH In (). T. C. at (,'amp Megg.s. 
Saw ovor.seas .servlre In France and Cermany. 



STURCHI.ER, WAIiTEB B. 

Providence Township 

Horn I'Vhruary 22, 1S!H1, Kril. I )i'(/cmlicr 1, 
i;U7. I'\t. fifiSth Aero S<|uadr<»n, Aviation 
.Service. Trained at Kelly p'leld; at Carlston 
l-'leld; at KlllnBton P'leld. Mustered out April 
17, 11)19. 

SUI.ING, DICK 
Maple Valley Township 

Born .lanuary ail. is:i7. lOril. Seiitember 0. 
1:1 IS. Pvt. with 5«th Co. Trained at Camp 
l>od»fe for hIx week.s. MuHtered out after hIx 
weeks' service on account of weak heart. 



sui.i.iVAM', chabi.es c. 

Newell 

Hiirii .lanuary 2\. ISx;i. KnI. Auuuwt 26, 11117. 
I'vt. Med. |ii-|it. Traiur-d al I'"l . lilli-y liase 
HoHi)ltal. 

SUNDBEBG, ERNEST J. 

Iilnn Qrove 

Ijorn April U,, 181)7. lOnl. Augu.st 3, 11)18. 
1^4 (}. M. Co. 8, nth UcKt. Trained at 
Charleston Training Station until December 
1. I II IX: .It ll:iinpton Roads until February 20, 
1 11 111; a I C. L. .V. T. S. until March 11. Mus- 
tered out March II, llill). 



SUNSBERG, JOHN ARTHUR 
Barnes Township 

lioiii iVlay 11!. I sill. lOnl. August 21), IDIX. 
i'vt. 2iHth Bakery Co. Trained at Camp Fun- 
ston. Mustered out December 211, 111 IX, 

SUNDEEN, DAVID M. 
Albert City 

I'.oiri I'-.bru.-uy ',, 1X1)1. lOlil. .Inly .5, IlllX. 
Petty officer, Merchant Marine. Trained: 
first stationed 54 Day Street, New York 
City; boarded U. S. S. Meade at Bos- 
ton July 8 to 27; to U. S. S. Dorothy 
Bradford until September 0; into service at 
New Vork; to Porto Ulco on the S. S. Brazos; 
then on S. S. .John L. ('amn October 9, coast- 
wise to Newport News and Chesapeake Bay. 
Mustered out December 23, 1918. 



SUNDHOI.M, ED-WIIT P. 
Marathon 

Born Dctober 12, 1X1)7. I'inl. .July Hi, 1 li 1 8. 
Mechanic. Railroad Reserves, Batt. A, 73d 
(,'. A. <:., R. A. R. Trained at Ft. Snelllng; 
at .Jefferson. Barracks; to Ft. Williams; at 
Ft. Preble; at Ft. Levitt; to Camp Mills. 
Sailefi form New York Septcmbt-r 27 rm Sco- 
tian; lantled Llveri>ool October 7. To Knotty 
Ash ^lamj); to ('amp Woodley; crossed Chan- 
nel to Cherbourg October 13. To Haussamont 
three weeks; to Artillery School at Mailley 
thi-ee weeks; to Somme Souse November 1 
to 12; did reimli'ing on front; to Maussarnoiit 
until .N'ovember Ifi; entrained for Brest. Sailed 
Decimber 15 on Mongolia; iancled ,\'ew York 
December 23. To Camp Mills; to Camp Devens. 
Mustered out at Camp Dodge .Tanuary 15, 1919. 

SVTHERI.AND, CHARI.ES V. 

Storm Iiake 

Horn .filly II, IXXil. KnI, . .Tuly 24, llilx. 
Sgt. 24th Co. <•. (I. T. C. Trained at Camp 
Cordon; reslgneil from (officers' Training 
Corps on account of close of war. Mustered 
out December Ifi, 1918. 

SWANSON, EI.MEB F. 

Albert City 
Born November 4, 1891. lOnl. .July 29, 1918. 
Corp. Co. F, 212th Fngrs. 12th Div. Trained 
at Camp Forrest; at Camp Devens until Sep- 
tember 1; to Camp Dodge February 2; pro- 
moted l)ecember 7 to corp. Mustered out 
February 8, 1919. 

SWANSON, HABBY A. 
Albert City 

Born Sciileniber 1, 1889. lOnl. November 3, 
I9IS. Mechanic Co. A, Section B, S. A. T. C. 
Trained at Iowa State College. Mustered out 
December 11, 1918. 

SWANSON, JOHN BERNHARD 

Storm I*ake 
Born October 8, 1891. Knl. February 25, 
1918. Pvt. Co. A, 130th Inf. 33d DIv. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; at Camril Logan. Sailed 
May 13. Sailed from France for U. S. Arrived 
Hdrirs. August 20, 1918. Returned to the U. 
S. by reason of physical disability. Mustered 
out February 19. 1918, 

SWANSON, I.ESI.IE E. 

Alta 

Born April 2(1, 1X94. Knl. December 14, 1917. 

Sgt. Ist-cl. (Jrdnance Corps. 1st O. R. S. D. 

Co., Artillery Rifle Shops, Mehun-sur-Ujenre. 




.Inliii Chjii-h'S T;inst\v 
Siimx K:ipi(ls 



Anion Tporiiik 
Alta 



»)le M. Teig 
Rembrandt 



VViliam H. Tliavs 
Scott Township 





v> 




Jake P. Tliavenot 
Elk Township 



Clarence K. Tliiel 
AVashington Township 



Warren 1'^. Thieman 
Newell 



Lester .1. Tliornpson 
Storm Lake 




Carl ('. 'I'lioniscn 
Providence Townsliip 



t'liris T. Thi)nisen 
Newell 



ThorwaUl Andrew Thomsen 
Newell 



Anton TillKren 
l^inn Crox'e 




Tom Tooliey 
Storm Lake 



Kilet M. Torkelson 
Siniix Unpifls 



Howard T. Torkelson 
Sioux Rapids 



Dewey Townsend 
Sioux Rapids 




Perry E. Treinan 
Poland Township 



Cecil I^. Truu^ur 
Storm Lake 



Edward Irvinpr Ti'oeger Pliilip Ttieodore Troeger 
Storm Lake Storm Lake 




Evald R. Trukken 
Newell 



Otto K. Trukken 
Newell 



Ward V. Trusty 
Sioux Rapids 



Roy E. Turner 
Storm Lake 



2IO 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



Trained at Camp Dodge in Co. C. 2d Ord. Depot 
Brigade; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from Ho- 
boken on Northern Pacific March 29, 1918; 
landed Brest April 7, 1918. To duty at Mehun- 
sur-Ujenre. Promoted to sgt. Ist-cl. Sailed 
on U. S. S. Manchuria May 11 from St. Na- 
zaire; landed Hoboken May 22. To Camp 
Merritt; to Camj) Dodge. Mustered out June 
2, 1919. 

SWENSON, AIiBERT 
Alta 

Born Nevember 7, 1892. Enl. September 20. 
1917. Corp. Co. I, 347th Inf. 87th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; at Camp Pike; to Camp Dix. 
Sailed from Montreal August 23; landed 20 
miles below London September 9. To South- 
ampton; to French port. September 16. To 
Remorantin September 29; to Brest. Sailed 
from Brest December 24; landed New York 
December 29. To Camp Merritt; to Camp Pike; 
to Camp Dodge. In service at Camp Dodge 
with Co. A, 350th Inf. 88th Div.; at Camp 
Pike with Co. I, 347th Inf. 87th Div. Mus- 
tered out at Camp Dodge January 29. 1919. 



SWENSON, ANTON lUDWIG 
Fairfield Township 

Born September 26. 1890. Enl. May 13. 1918. 
Corp. Co. P, — later Co. A — 7th Supply Train. 
M. T. C. Trained at Jefferson Barracks; at 
Camp MacArthur; to Camp Merritt. Sailed 
August 16 on Niagara; landed Bordeaux August 
28. To Bubucley until October 12; to Deon- 
lard; to Minnencourt; to Bassey-au-Plain ; to 
Brest. Sailed June 16 on S. S. Kansas; landed 
Newport News. To Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out July 5. 1919. 



TANSEY, JOHN CHABI.ES 

Sioux Rapids 

Born June 30, 1900. Enl. April 20, 1917. 
Trained at G. L. N. T. S.; to Portsmouth, on 
receiving ship, Southery; to Norfolk on U. S. 
S. Oklahoma; to Hosp. Ship Solace; to Naval 
Hosp. at Portsmouth; to U. S. S. Kearsarge; 
to Leviathan; sailed on Leviathan from Ho- 
boken to Cuba; to Liverpool (three trips); 
from Hoboken to Brest and return (15 trips). 
Mustered out September 22. 1919. 

TAYI.OR, CESBIC C. 

Alta 
Born December 4, 1892. Enl. August 14, 
1918. Pvt. Batt. F, 14th P. A. R. D. Trained at 
Army Training Detachment, Des Moines Col- 
lege; at Camp Jackson. Mustered out Decem- 
ber 11, 1918. 



TEEBINK, AKTON E. 
Alta 

Born October 26, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Drill sgt. Co. D. Inf. Trained at Camp Gor- 
don; at Camp Wadsworth. Promoted to Corp.; 
to sgt. Mustered out December 14, 1918. 



TEIG, OI.E M. 

Rembrandt 

Born October 1, 1887. Enl. September 20. 
1917. Pvt. Co. B, Military Police. Trained at 
Camp Pike in Co. I, 347th Inf. 87th Div.; later 
transferred to Co. B, M. P. Mustered out at 
Camp Pike May 31, 1919. Pvt. Teig was highly 
recommended by Capt. Gerald Jones as a sol- 
dier who always performed his duty in a 
highly creditable manner. 



THAVS, 'WII.I.IAM H. 
Scott Township 

Born March 25. ISSS. Enl. Septemljer 19, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. A and Co. B, 33d Regt. Trained at 
Camp Dodge until November 5; to Camp Cody 
until February 8, 1919. Mustered out Feb- 
ruary 8, 1919. 



THEVENOT, JAKE F. 

Elk Township 
Born April 16. 1894. Enl. April 26. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 359th Regt. 90th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge; to Camp Travis; to Camp 
Mills. Sailed from Hoboken June 18 on the Tin 
P. Castle; landed Liverpool July 1. To Win- 
chester; to Racey; to Prance. To Toul sector; 
at St. Mihiel; to Argonne; gassed; sent to 
field hosp. at Toul; to Bordeaux Base Hosp. 
No. 14 four weeks; to convalescent camp at 
Bordeaux two months; transferred to 40th 
Div. and sent back to U. S. Sailed from 
Brest March 6 on Walter Luckenbach; landed 
Hoboken March 18. To Camp Mills; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out April 8, 1919. 



TKIEI., CI.ARENCE E. 
Washington Township 
Born January 7, 1892. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. H, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon Co. D. 4th Replm. Regt.; to 
Camp Merritt. Sailed from Hoboken September 
1 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; landed Brest Sep- 
tember 12. To training camp with 163d at 
St. Georges two weeks; transferred to 79th 
Div. Sailed from St. Nazalre May 16 on 
L'. S. S. Texan; landed Philadelphia May 29. 
To Camp Dix; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
June 10. 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 211 



THIE&IAM', WABREN E. 

Newell 

Born November IIJ, I88I1. Knl. September 5. 

1918. Cook Co. F, 88th Regt. 19th Div. Trained 

at Camp Dodge. Mustered out February 28, 

1919. 

THOMPSON, CLYDE B. 

Storm Xiake 
Born March 16, 1896. Enl. July 29. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 211th Engrs. 11th Div. Trained 
at Camp Forrest; at Camp Meade. Mustered 
out February 1. 1919. 

THOMPSON, LESTER J. 
StoTin Lake 

Born June 1, 1889. Enl. July 24, 1918. Co. 
316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at Camp Gor- 
don. Co. D, 4th Replm. Inf. Sailed from 
New York August 30 on U. S. S. Plattsburg; 
landed Brest September 12. To St. Georges; 
to Verdun front eight days; to hosp. at Mesves; 
to Brest forty days. Sailed March 11 on 
Huntington; landed New York March 23. To 
Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
April 3. 1919. 

THOMSEN, CARL C. 

Providence Township 

Born May 23, 1895. Enl. July 24. 1918. 

Corp. 4th Co. 13th Training Bn. Inf. Trained 

at Camp Pike, was in Non-Commissioned 

Officer.s' School. Mustered out March 1, 1919. 

THOMSEN, CHRIS T. 

Ne'well 
Born January 27, 1887. Enl. January 31, 
1918. Farrier, attached to 351st and 352d Inf. 
in 176th Brig. 88th Div. Veterinary Corps. 
Trained at Camp Dodge. Sailed from New 
York August 16 on Saxon; landed Liverpool 
August 28. To Southampton; to Le Havre 
September 2. To Florvinie; to Hericourt; to 
Alsace front for 28 days until November 11; 
to St. Nazaire. Sailed May 20; landed New- 
port News May 31. Mustered out June 8, 1919. 

THOMSEN, TKORWALD ANDREVT 

Newell 

Born December 12. 1892. Enl. May 27, 1918. 
Wagoner. Batt. E, 337th Regt. 163d Art. Brig. 
Trained; Chiefly in France. Sailed August 16; 
landed Liverpool. To Southampton; to Le 
Havre. To Clermont-Ferrand; to Bordeaux. 
Saw service with A. E. F. in England in train- 
ing, and in France in training and actual fight- 
ing. Returned to U. S. January 19, 1919. To 
Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
Feb. 1, 1919. 



THOMSON, CHARLES R. 

Storm Lake 

Born August 27, 1893. Enl. December 11, 
1917. Sgt. Hdqrs. Detachment. Inf. Trained; 
aviation service at Kelly Field; at Camp 
Greene where he was transferred to infantry 
September 2, 1918. Mustered out April 1, 
1919. 

TILLGREN, ANTON 

Linn G-rove 
Born June 7. 1888. Enl. September 4. 1917. 
Pvt. Co. A, 350th Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; at Camp Pike. At Camp Pike 
assigned to wagoner duty in Supply Co. 34Tth 
Regt. 87th Div. Mustered out February 2, 
1918. 

TOFT, P. J. 
Linn Grove 
Born February 16, 1893. Enl. July 26, 1918. 
Line sgt. U. S. A. Trained: Pvt. in 6th Co. 
2d Replm. Regt. Inf. at Camp Gordon; at 
Camp Shelby. Promoted to line sgt. August 
25; trained men at Camp Gordon. Mustered 
out December 31, 1918. 

TOPT, STANLEY E. 
Linn Grove 

Born February 18. 1898. Enl. August 1, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Automobile Transport. Trained at 
Iowa State College. 

TOOHEY, TOM 
Stonu Lake 

Born December 1. 1898. Enl May 25, 1918. 
Div. Commissary, 78th Div. Pvt. Ist-cl. in 
Hdq. Co. with 303d Supply Train, later made 
Div. Commissary. 7Sth Div. Trained at Ft. 
Logan; at Camp Johnston; to Camp Hill. 
Sailed from Newport News August 5 on Mada- 
waska; landed Brest August 18. To Camp 
Williams two weeks; 78th Div. followed 42d 
to St. Mihlel front September 12 to October 
1; to Argonne until armistice; to St. Mene- 
hould; to Semur for six months; on leave and 
visited Nice. Monte Carlo, Paris. Marseilles, 
and other interesting cities of France. Sailed 
from Bordeaux May 27 on S. S. General Goe- 
thals; landed Newport News June 7. To Camp 
Lee; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 18, 
1919. 

TOOHEY, WILLIAM M. 
Providence Township 

Born February 21, 1897. Enl. July IS'. 1918. 
Seaman 2d-cl. in Navy Relief Society. Trained 
at G. L. N. T. S.; toured Missouri and all of 
Michigan with Navy Entertainment Troupe. 
Mustered out February 20, 1919. 




Oust Turnquist 
Lincoln Township 



Mason L. Turpin 
Scott Township 



William C. Turpin 
Nokomis Township 



David Hi-nrv Tutt 
Alta 




Claude Henry Typper 
Sioux Rapids 



Charles F. Unger 
Storm Lake 



Roy Volkerts 
Storm Lake 



Gust Algol Walquist 
Linn Grove 




Carl E. Wahlstrom 
Storm Lake 



Emil Joseph Wahlstrom 
Storm Lake 



Llovd Arthur Wall 
Alta 



Robert Wallace 
Alta 



P] 


I^^M 


^ 




Hi 


V 




™', ^ 




A, F. Walner 

Albert City 



George Albert Walton 
Alta 



Tom H. Watts 
Poland Townshii) 



Fred W. Webb 
Lincoln Township 




Josepii II. Weelvs 
Storm Lalie 



Glenn It. Weeks 
Storm Lake 



Henry F, Wehking 
Maple Valley Township 



Henry Weiirenber^ 
Newell 




Elmer Claire Welcli 
Marathon 



John Garner Welch 
Marathon 



Thomas Verne Welch 
Marathon 



Bert A. Wells 
Marathon 



214 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA MSTA COUNTY 



TORKEI.SOM, EHiET M. 
Sioux Rapids 

Born January 8, 1895. Enl. May 17. 1917. 
2d Lieut. Co. C, 108th Field Sig. Bn. S.'Sa Div. 
Trained at Camp Grant; Ft Logan; Ellington 
Field, in ninth Aero Squadron; at S. M. A., 
Au.stin; to Camp Dick; to Ft. Monroe Coast 
Artillery School. Mustered out January 18. 
1919. 

TORKEI-SON, HOWARD T. 
Sioux Rapids 

Born June 27, 1897. lOnl. October 1. 1918. 
Pvt. in Tanlt Corps. Trained three weel<s at 
Camp Colt; entered Officers' Training Camp at 
Camp Colt October 15, in school until November 
31; candidate for commission. Mustered out 
December 15. 1918. 

TOWNSEND. DEWEY 
Sioux Rapids 
Born August 20. 1898. Enl. July 3, 1917. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. 349th Inf. Med. Dept. 88th Div. 
Trained at Ft. Riley; at Camp Dodge; to Camp 
Upton. Sailed August 7; landed Southampton. 
To Le Havre; to Senuir; to Les Lownes; to 
Belfort; to Phaffans; to Don Joutian; at Don 
Joutain had first aid raid by Germans; to 
Toul; at Metz; at L'Emitage Woods waiting for 
orders to go into battle when armistice was 
signed; to Trevary. Sailed from St. Nazaire 
May 18, 1919, on U. S, S. Mallory; landed 
Broolilyn May 28, 1919. Mustered out June 
13, 1919. 

TREMAN, FERRY E. 
Poland Township 
Born February 21, 189 7. Enl. September 25, 
1918. Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Iowa State 
College. Mustered nut November 30, 1918 

TROEGER, CECII. P. 

Storm Iiake 
Born December 27, 1894. Enl. June 17, 1917. 
2d Lieut. Batt. Adjt. 138th Regt. Artillery, 
35th Div. Trained at Des Moines in 109th 
Engrs. four months assisting in construction 
of Camp Dodge; to Camp Cody January 9; 
O. T. S. at San Antonio. Commissioned 2d 
Lieut May 18, 1918. At Camp Cody was 
assigned to 135th Inf.; to Camp Dix. Sailed 
from New Yortc September 12 on Balmore 
Castle; landed Glasgow September 26. To 
Southampton; to Le Havre September 29. To 
Inf. Weapon School at Clemecy; to Commercy, 
assigned to 138th Inf.; to Larouville; to Le 
Mans March 8; to Tufte; to A. E. C. Hdqrs. 
transferred to 77th Div. for return to U. S. 
Sailed from Brest April 26 on V. S. S. Presi- 



dent Grant; landed Hoboken May 4. To Camp 
Mills; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out May 25, 
1919. 

TROEGER, EDWARD IRVING 
Storm Xiake 
Born July 14 1896. Enl. Feliruary 25, 1918. 
Seaman Ist-cl. Trained at (i. L. N. T. S.; 
to receiving ship Philadelphia; sailed on U. 
S. S. Corala. to Brest; transferred to U. S. S. 
Tantintin for tug service in the harbor of 
Brest; returned to U. S. October 16. 1919; 
landed Norfolk November 10, 1919. Mustered 
out November 22, 1919. 

TROEGER, PHII.IP THEODORE 
Storm Iiake 
Born October 19, 1889. Enl. April 5, 1918. 
Chief Carpenter's Mate, 12th Regt. Div. Con- 
tract-Public Works. Trained at U. S. Naval 
Training Station, Great Lakes. Mustered out 
April 3. 1919. 

TRUKKEN, EVAI.D R. 

Ne'well 

Born February 4, ls:i3. Enl. May 4, 1918. 
Seaman. Trained at G. L. N. T. S. ; to New- 
port. R. I., Icn weeks; to Hampton Roads; to 
U. S. S. Cincinnati April 22; to receiving ship 
New Orleans; to U. S. tug Barnett. Mustered 
out September 3, 1919. 

TRVKXEN, OTTO K. 

ITewell 
Born June 20, 1891. Enl. September 20, 1917. 
Pvt. Inf. to Aviation 54th Balloon Co. Trained 
at Camp Lewis; at Kelly Field; Ft. Sam 
Houston; Base Hosp. Corpus . Christi; to Con- 
valescent Hosp. ; to Kelly Field; to Camp 
John Wise; to Camp Morrison; to Lee Hall; 
to Camp Morrison. Mustered out December 
IT, r.ilT. 

TRUSTY, WARD V. 

Sioux Rapids 
Born August 12, 1894. Enl. May 29, 1917. 
Called into service July 9, 1917. Wagoner, 
Supply Co. 108th Regt. 42d Div. Trained at 
Des Moines; at Camp Mills. Sailed October 
18 on President Grant; out 8 days and turned 
back on account of engine trouble; re-em- 
barked November 14 on English ship Aurania; 
landed Liverpool December 1. To Le Havre 
December 9. To Rimacourt December 11; ar- 
rived trenches February 26; released from 
trenches June 17; to Champagne; to Chateau- 
Thierry front; to Toul front and Argonne; to 
Sedan; to Germany December 1, did guard 
duty until April 7. Sailed from Brest April 17 
on v. S. S. Leviathan; landed U. S. April 
26. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



!I5 



TURNER, ROY E. 
Storm Iiake 

Born March 22, ISii'J. Enl. July 15. 1017. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Hdq. Co. 133d Inf. 34th Div. Trained 
at Camp Cody. Sailed for France October 12; 
landed England October 24. To France. On 
way to front when armistice was signed; sent 
to Coblenz, Germany, in December with Army 
of Occupation. After serving nine months was 
detailed home and mustered out of service 
August 20, I'.lld. Term of enlistment expired 
and re-enlisted for one year; assigned to S. O. 
S. and slatiom-d at Tours. France. 



TTTRFIN, MASON Ii. 

Scott Township 
Born June 22, 1894. Enl. May 11, 1917. 
Pvt. Troop D, 1st U. S. Cavalry. Trained at 
Ft. Logan, attached service one week; to 
Arizona; to Ft. D. A. Russell for nine months; 
trans, to 83d F. A.; to Camp Fremont 4 months; 
to Ft. Sill, transferred to 9th F. A. Batt. B; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out March 27, 1919. 



TURPIN, WII.I.IAM C. 
Nokomis Township 

Born Februar.\' .5. 1892. l*^nl. December 11, 
1917. Seaman 2d-cl. Trained at G. L. N. T. 
S. Was taken sick with pnuemonia, had oper- 
ation — one rib removed; sent home to recuper- 
ate and afterwards discharged. Mustered out 
May 16. 191 S. 



TUTT, DAVID KENRY 

Alta 

Born February 12, 1S90. Enl. May 27. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. 25, 166th D. B., later transferred 
to Co. A, 159th Regt. 40th Div. Trained at 
Camp Kearny; sent to Base Hosp. for opera- 
tion June 25; went home on furlough July 
19 to August 8; transferred to Co. A, 32d Regt. 
16th Div., remained with this organization 
until February 13; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out February 26, 1919. 



TYPPER, CIiAUDE HENRY 

Sioux Rapids 
Born November 30. 1892. Enl. September 20, 
1917. Corp Co. B, 338th M. G. Bn. 88th Regt. 
Trained at Camp Dodge; to Camp Gordon; 
by command to Camp Upton for operation for 
gastric ulcer, aljdoniiujil adhesions, and appen- 
dicitis on July 18, 1919. Mustered out Febru- 
ary 8, 1919. 



TYSON, CHARI.es VT. 
Storm Iiake 

Born June 23, 1894. Enl. September 21, 1917. 
Bugler Co. M, 320th M. Gunners, (Inf.) 80th 
Div. Trained at Camp Dodge; at Camp Pike; 
to Camp Merritt. Sailed overseas ,lune 20, 
1918. 

TTNGER, CHARI.ES F. 
Storm Iiake 
Born May 24, 1892. Enl. August 27, 1917. 
1st Lieut. School of Fire for Field Artillery, 
U. S. A. Commissioned 2d Lieut. F. A. No- 
vember 27, 1917. Reported for duty with 3423 
P. A. at Camp Funston December 15, 1917: 
transferred to F. A. Replm. Depot at Ft. Sill 
the latter part of June, 1918; commissioned 1st 
Lieut, and held as instructor in Scliool of l^''ire 
for Field Artiller.v. Mustered out al Ft. .Sill, 
December 16, 1919. 

VAST, FREDERICK 
Maple Valley Township 

Born November 9, 1892. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Replm Regt. Trained at 
Camp Gordon 4 months. Discharged tempor- 
arily for Limited Service. Mustei'il out 
August 1, 1918. 

VICKERMAN, JOHN B. 

Rembrandt 
Born April 13. 1889. Enl. April 26, 1918. 
Sgt. 5th Batt. U. S. Guards. Trained at Camp 
Dodge with Co. C, 338th M. G. Bn. 88th Div.; 
transferred to 5th Bat. U. S. Guards at Ft. 
Robison August 7; to Rock Island Arsenal; 
to Camp B^unston. Mustered out January 11, 
1919. 

VOLKERTS, ROY 

Storm Iiake 

Born June 22. 1885. Enl. May 30, 1917. 
Wagoner, 134th Ambulance Co. 109th Sani- 
tary Train, 34th Div. Trained at Camp Eaton; 
to Camp French; to Camp Cody. Sailed from 
New York October 13; landed Liverpool. To 
Romsey; to Southampton; crossed English 
Cliannel to Le Havre. To Le Mans; to Thesse; 
to Marseilles; to Nice. Sailed from Marseilles 
June 25, stopping at Gibraltar 8 days; and 
then continued voyage to the United States. 
Was over most of France during service. 
Mustered out July 28, 1919. 

WALQUIST, GUST AIiGOT 

Iilnn Grove 
Born December 24, 1888. Enl. August 6, 
1918. Pvt. Co. C, 111th Inf. 28th Div. Trained 
at Camp MacArthur. Landed Brest October 




Ned Edward Wells 
Marathon 



WiUard W. Wells 
Marathon 



Clifford Guv Wessmat 
Alta 



H.skil M. Westlin 
Albert City 




Henry A. Westphal 
Elk Township 



James F. Whealen 
Providence Township 



Donald C. White 
Storm Lake 



Harry DeWaj'ne White 
Sioux Rapids 




Ross E. White 
Storm Lake 



Z. Z. White 
Storm Lake 



Bernerd Whiting Frank Lincoln Willfong 

Alta Alta 




Harold M. Williams 
Linn Grove 



Herman Williams 
Rembrandt 



William Witzke 
Newell 



John Drake Wolcott 
Poland Township 




Albert T. Wolte 
Truesdale 



Bernard Wright 



Mart E. Wright 



Providence Township Providence Township 



Lester Harold Terington 
Storm Lake 




Charles E. Young 
Newell 



Rudolph A. Youngstrom William A. Youngsti'om 
Hayes Township Hayes Township 



Jolin H. Zoffka 
Coon Township 



2l8 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



6. To St. Aignan; to St. Mihiel; to Xansord 
Wood.s; to Thiacourt; to Benney; to Cannes; 
to Beineville; to St. Bernard; to Base Hosp. 
No. 45 to Toul; Base Hosp. No. 210; to Army 
Rest Camp; to 2Sth Casual Camp at Colombey; 
back to Casual Co. at Mall; to Le Mans 
Camp No. 1; to camp at St. Nazaire. Sailed 
for the United States. 



WAHI.STBOM, CARI, E. 
Storm Iiake 
Born June 13, 1891. Enl. August 26, 1918. 
Sgt. Hdq. Regt. Trained at Cainp Gordon; at 
Camp Merritt. Sailed overseas and saw serv- 
ice in France. 

'WAKI.STROM, EMU. JOSEPH 

Storm liake 
Born November 7, 1893. Enl. December 14, 
1917. Musician Ist-cl. in 39th Balloon Co. 
Trained at Kelly Field; Post Field. Mustered 
out May 26. 1919. 



WAI.I., I.I.OYD ARTHUR 

Alta 
Born May 23, 1895. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Acting sgt. Co. H, 3S4th Inf. 96th Div. Traint-d 
at Camjj Gordon; Camp Wadsworth. Mustered 
out December 31 at Cami^ Dodge. 

WAIiIiACE, ROBERT 

Alta 

Born February 22, 1893. Enl. May 28, 1918. 
Pvt. Ist-cl. Hdq. Co. 350th Regt. 88th Div. 
Trained at Camp Dodge; at Camp Upton. 
Sailed from New York August 4; landed Lon- 
don August 14. To Commercy. To Alsace 
sector and entered line of fighting; to Toul 
sector; to Minnecourt; to St. Nazaire Sailed 
May 6; landed Newport News May 30, 1919. 
To Camp Arthur; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out June 6, 1919. 

WAIiNER, A. r. 

Albert City 
Born June 1, 1890. Enl July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. D, Trench Mortar Regt. Trained at Camp 
Gordon. Mustered out at Camp Dodge January 
9, 1919. 



WATTS, TOM H 
Poland Township 

Born March 26, 1897. Enl. September 5, 
1918. Pvt. Co. F, 88th Inf. 19th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge Mustered out February 27, 
1919. 

WEBB, BERT A. 

Storm I,ake 
Born January 3, 1899. Enl. October 1, 1918. 
Pvt. Field Art., 8th Observation Bn. Trained 
at Camp Taylor, where he attended Officers' 
Training School Mustered out December 5, 
1918. 

WnBB, PRED W. 

Iiincoln Township 

Born August 26, 1894. Enl. September 4, 
1917. Corp. Co. A, 350th Inf. SSth Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge until November 23; at Camp 
Pike until mustered out. Mustered out April 
8, 1918. 

WEEKS, GI.ENN R. 
Storm Iiake 

Born May 29, 1900. Enl. October 4, 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C; transferred October 13 to 
Camp Pike with 7th Co. 4th Bn. of I. C. O. T. 
S. Mustered out December 6, 1918. 

WEEKS JOSEPH R. 

Storm liake 

Born May 10, 1897. Enl. November 17, 1918. 

Seaman 2d-cl. Naval Auxiliary Reserve School. 

Trained at N. A. R. S. at Camp Lawrence, 

Great Lakes. Mustered out January 17, 1919. 

WEHKING, HENRY F. 
Maple Valley Township 

Born October 15, 1891. Enl. December 14. 
1917. 23d Balloon Co. Air Service. Trained 
at Ft. Logan one month; to Kelly Field No. 
2; at Camp MacArthur; to Camp Morrison; to 
Camp Eustis; to Camp Morrison. Sailed from 
Newport News September 20 on Duke de Asto; 
landed Brest October 3. To a company near 
Bois-de-Pammes; to German Hosp. Camp 
after armistice, about two months; to 
Pont-a-Mousson; to Luxemburg; to Rheims. 
Sailed from Marseilles through Strait of Gib- 
raltar. Sailfd for U. S. May 30 on Duke de 
Abruzzi; landed New York June 18. To Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 30. 1919. 



WAI.TOM, GEORGE AI.BERT 

Alta 
Born June 18, 1S94. Knl. April 25. 191S. 
Pvt. Med. Corps, Base Hospital. Trained at 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out April 25, 1919. 



WEHRENBERG, HENRY 

Newell 
Born April 8. 1883. Enl. May 10, 1917. Pvt. 
Ist-cl. Co. A. 2d Regt. 2d Div. Trained at 
Camp Baker. Sailed from New Y'ork Septem- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



219 



ber 10 on R. M. S. Carpathia; stayed in Hali- 
fax nine days, sailing September 21; landed 
Glasgow October 2. By train to Southampton; 
crossed Channel to Le Havre. To billeting 
area aroun<i Colombey-les-Belles; to Beau- 
mont two months; to Chateau-Thierry; went 
into lines on Decoration Day and fought with 
French against Germans in the big German 
drive against Paris, left lines July 5; on July 
1 was wounded by high-explosive shrapnel; 
to Base Hosp. No. 3; joined company at St. 
Mihiel and was in lines there from September 
12 to 16; on Champagne front breaking Hind- 
enburg Line; to Meuse-Argonne October 1 to 
28; rested four days; to Meuse-Argonne again 
to November 11; marched to Germany in 
Army of Occupation; at Engers December 12 
to July 20, 1919; to Brest. Sailed July 24 on 
U. S. S. Finland; landed New Yorli August 
4. Mustered out August 7, 1919. 



WEIiCH, ELTtHH CIiAIRi: 

Marathon 
Born iJi-cembi-r :;s. is;i5. Enl. July lU. 1917. 
Electrician 2d-cl. Radio Service of Navy. 
Trained at G. L. N. T. S.; Harvard Univ.; 
stationed on U. S. Submarine Chaser No. 211; 
May 14 to New London. Conn., as \\'ireless 
telephone operator; encountered German sub- 
marine in American Submarine Zone and re- 
ported one sunli; convoyed troop ships through 
submarine zone; stationed at Wasliington, D. 
C. September 23, in higli-power wireless sta- 
tion, there until March 10, 1919. 



WEIiCK, JOHN GABNER 
Maratlioii 

Born May 25, 1891. Enl. July 28. 1917. 
1st Lieut. Dental Corps. Called into active 
service at Camp Greenleaf and Ft. Oglethorpe 
October 2S, 1918. Stationed there until Decem- 
ber 15. Mustered out Ft. Oglethorpe Decem- 
ber 15, 1918. 



WELCH, THOMAS VERNE 
Marathon 

Born March 6, 1894. Enl. July 10, 1917. 
1st Lieut. Trained at Ft. Snelling July 20, 
1917. to October 5. 1917; to Ft. Crook until 
January 3, 1918; sent to Third Officers' Train- 
ing School at Camp Dodge until April 19; to 
Camp Gordon as sgt.; commissioned 2d Lieut. 
June 1; sent to Camp Pike until September 1; 
to Camp Taylor; commissioned 1st Lieut. Octo- 
ber 27, at Camp Taylor. Mustered out Decem- 
ber 19, 1919. 



WEI.I.S, BERT A. 

Marathon 
Born July 1:;. 1894. Enl. July 10. 1917. 
Electrician, Radio, 2d-cl. Trained at G. L. N. 
T. S. until October 28; to Naval Radio School 
November 1 to February 24; to receiving ship 
at Philadelphia until March 9; joined armed 
draft detail at New York March 9, assigned 
to duty on S. S. Westwego March 21; made 
one trip from New York to Bordeaux; made 
five trips to Le Havre from New Orleans; 
acted as radio operator on voyages; to receiv- 
ing sliip New Orleans June 25, 1919, and re- 
mained there until July 28, 1919. Discharged 
at G. L. N. T. S. July 30, 1919. 



WEI^I-S, EDWARD WELI.S 

Marathon 

Born September 5, 1896. Enl. October 7, 1917. 
Chauffeur, 323d F. S. Bn. Signal Corps. Trained 
at Camp Funston until February 7. 1918. 
Sailed from New York February 16 on Sus- 
quehanna; landed St. Nazaire Marcli 4. Sent 
to Nevers for duty; worked in 33d Service Co. 
Signal Corps until July 1, 1919; furloughed to 
Paris and went to La Bourbole; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed on Panamon July 9; landed New York 
July 19. To Camp Merritt. To Camp Dodge. 
Mustered out July 29, 1919. 



WEI.I.S, wrLIiABD W. 

Marathon 
Born April 25, 1892. Enl. December 27, 1917. 
Pvt. 35th Co. 11th Regt. Marine Corps. Trained 
at Mare Island until May 4, 1918; to Norfolk. 
Sailed from Norfolk June 4 on U. S. S. Kittery; 
to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands June 29 to 
April 6, 1919. Sailed from St. Thomas on U. 
S. S. Rainbow; landed New Y'ork May 1. Sta- 
tioned at New Y'ork Navy Yard until June 15. 
Mustered out June 15, 1919. 



WESSMAN, CLIFFORD GUY 

Altn. 
Born January 31, 1894. Enl. July 24. 1918. 
Pvt. Co. M, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at 
Camp Gordon; to Camp Merritt. Sailed from 
Hoboken August 30; landed Brest September 
12. To St. Georges September 22; to Verdun 
October 12; to French Aviation Camp; to Evac. 
Hosp. November 8, with influenza; to Base 
Hosp. No. 38 November 11; to Brest. Sailed on 
U. S. S. Harrisburg March 10; landed Hoboken 
March 19. To Debarkation Hosp. No. 3, New 
Y'ork City; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
April 5, 1919. 



220 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



WESTIiIN, ESKU. M. 
Albert City 

Boin February 24, 1890. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Corp. Co. 202, 101 Batt. Circulation Div. 
Trained at Camp Gordon one month; to Camp 
Merritt. Sailed on U. S. S. Plattsburg August 
30; Joined convoy ot 13 vessels and sub- 
marine chasers; part of convoy went to Eng- 
land, part to Prance; docked at Brest Septem- 
ber 12. To rest camp; joined M. P. with 41st 
Div.; to Autun — first American troops to enter 
town — with cavalry training depot detail; 
studied traffic control at front; ready to go to 
front as mounted patrol when armistice was 
signed: to Paris, directed A. E. F. through 
city; helped patrol stadium during Inter-Al- 
lied Race Meet; to Budapest; to Vienna; to 
Paris; to Brest. Sailed on S. S. Siboney; landed 
Hoboken October 20. To Camp Dodge. Mus- 
tered out October 30, 1919. 

WESTPHAI., HENRY A. 
Elk Township 

Born Augu.st 11, 1894. Enl. May 26, 1918. 
Corp. Co. B, 352d Regt. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; to Camp Mills. Sailed from 
Camp Mills August 16 on British ship Ascan- 
ius; landed Liverpool, August 28. Main stops 
were Hericourt, Toul and Gondrecourt, was at 
the latter place when armistice was signed; 
held the front line sector in Alsace for one 
week; on way to Metz at time of armistice; to 
St. Xazaire. Sailed May 21 on U. S. S. Canon- 
icus; landed Newport News June 3. Mustered 
out June 26, 1919. 



College, Storm Lalve, 
December 20, 1918. 



Iowa. 



Mustered out 



■WHITE RABBY DE WAYNE 
Sioux Rapids 

Born May 6, 1S95. Enl. April 30, 1917. 
Elec. 2d-cl. Trained: Electrical School. Brook- 
lyn Navy Yard; to convoy duty on U. S. S. 
Salem March to June, 191S: submarine hunt- 
ing squadron June to December, 1918; at Navy 
Yard at Boston; on IT. S. S. Turkey, a mine- 
sweeper, which was one of the first to start 
and stayed up to the last, finished sweeping the 
North Sea Mine Barrage September 30, 1919. 

WHITE R. E. 

Storm Iiake 

Born July 4, 1890. Enl. July 30, 1918. Pvt. 

Co. B, 212th Engrs. 12th Div. Trained at 

Camp Forrest; to Camp Devens. Mustered out 

January 16, 1919. 

WHITE, ZENO Z. 

Storm liake 
Born April 6, 1892. Enl. June 15, 1918. 
Corp Hdq. Co. 337th F. A. 88th Div. Trained 
at Camp Dodge. Sailed August 16; landed 
Liverpool. To Southampton; to Le Havre. To 
Clermont; to Ferrant; to Bordeaux, Sailed 
from Bordeaux; landed New York. To Camp 
Merritt; to Camp Dodge. The chief activities 
of the 88th Div. included the center sector of 
Haute-Alsace. Mustered out February 1, 1919. 



WHEAl;^^, HAROIiD B. 

Storm Iiake 

Born January 14, 1898. Enl. October 11. 

1918. Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena 

Vista College, Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered 

out December 11, 1918, 

WHEALEN, JAMES F. 
Providence Township 

Born October 1, 1896. Enl. July 24, 
1918. Pvt. Co. I, 316th Regt. 79th Div. Trained 
at Camp Gordon. Sailed on U. S. S. Platts- 
burg from New York August 30; landed Brest 
September 12 To St. Georges two weeks; to 
Argonne-Meuse until November 11; entire regi- 
ment recommended for bravery and service 
here: to Rambluzin; to St. Nazaire. Sailed 
May 16 on U. S. S Texan; landed Philadelphia 
May 29. Mustered out June 10, 1919. 

WHITE, SONAI.!) C. 
Storm liake 

Born November 15, 1889. Enl. October 3, 
1918. Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista 



WHITING. BERNARD 

Alta 
Born October 19, 1893. Enl. August 20. 
1918. Quarter Master Corps, Hdq. Co. 315th 
Service Bn. Trained at Camp Gordon; to Camp 
Merritt. Sailed from Hoboken September 

3; landed St. Nazaire September 12. To Camp 
No. 1 St. Nazaire; to St. Nazaire Docks; to 
Paris and battlefields on leave; to St. Nazaire. 
Sailed July 12 on U. S. S. Amphion; landed 
Newport News July 27. To Camp Lee; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out August 1, 1919. 

WILCOX, FRANK J. 

Grant Township 
Born August 12, 1893. Enl. February 24, 
1918. Pvt. Co. L. 131st Regt. 33d Div. 

W^IiIiFONG, FRANK LINCOLN 

Alta 
Born June 15, 1890. Enl. May 26, 1918. 
Corp. Co. M. 352d Inf. SSth Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge; to Camp Mills. Sailed from 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



221 



Philadelphia on City of Exeter August 16; 
landed Liverpool August 30. To Southampton; 
to Le Havre September 1. To Belfort Area; 
to Alsace sector; entered trenches October 24; 
in action 10 days; to Belfort; to Lucy; to 
Pondrecourt area until armistice was signed; 
to St. Nazaire. Sailed on U. S. S. Pocahontas 
May 21; landed Newport News June 1, 1910. 
To Camp Dodge. Mustered out June 14, 1919. 



WHiIiIAMS, HAROIiD SI. 
Iiiun Grove 

Born February 17. 1890. Enl. October 1, 

1918. Pvt. S. A. T. C. Studying chemistry 
for war work. Mustered out December 21, 
1918. 

WII.I.IAMS, HERMAN 
Rembrandt 
Born April 4, 1897. Enl. July 14, 1917. 
Mech. Ambulance Co. 27, Hdq. Train, Med. 
Dept. Trained at Ft. Clark, eight months do- 
ing border patrol duty. Sailed from U. S. 
March 18, 1918; landed France. Spent two 
months in training at Chateauvillain; first in 
action May 31; participated in battles at Cha- 
teau-Thierry Area; Aisne defensive; Cham- 
pagne-Marne defensive, Aisne-Marne offensive, 
St. Mihiel offensive, and Argonne offensive; 
motor dispatch rider in and around Chateau- 
Thierry in June, July and August; in Army of 
Occupation from December 2 until August 10. 

1919. Sailed from Brest on U. S. S. Canan- 
daigua August 15; landed Hoboken August 26. 
To Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered 
out September C, 1919. 



from Marseilles June 16 in Casual Co. 999; 
stopped at Gibraltar 3 days, also at a port in 
Africa; landed New York July 2. To Camp 
Merritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out July 
16, 1919. 



WITTHAUER, ROY E. 
StorTn Ijake 

Born March 24, 1898. Enl. October 7. 1918. 
Pvt. S. A. T. C. Trained at Buena Vista Col- 
lege, Storm Lake, Iowa. Mustered out Decem- 
ber 20, 1918. 



WITZKE, WrLlIAM 

Newell 
Born December 3, 1899. Enl. May 26, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. D, 352d Inf. 88th Div. Trained at 
Camp Dodge. Sailed from New York August 
18; landed Liverpool August 28. To South- 
ampton; to Cherbourg September 1. To St. 
Georges; to Alsace-Lorraine front about four 
weeks; retired near Metz front until armis- 
tice; to Leftol-le-Grande; to Army of Occu- 
pation near Coblenz; to St. Nazaire. Sailed 
May 21 on S. S. Canavius; landed Newport 
News June 3, 1919. Mustered out June 13, 
1919. 



'WOEHI.ER, OTTO HENRY 
Grant Township 

Enl. July 30, 191S. I'vt. Medical Replm. 
Unit No. 37. Trained at Camp Grant. 



WIIiIiIAMSON, wii.i;is c. 

Providence Township 

Born May 15, 1896. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. F, 77th Regt. 14th Div. Trained at 
Camp Custer; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
January 28, 1919. 

WITT, EMII. R. 
Storm Iiake 
Born November 7, 1898. Enl. April 11, 1917. 
Pvt. Co. M, 2d Iowa National Guards, later to 
Co. B, 133d Inf. Trained at Camp Hyatt one 
month; to Camp Cody ten months; transferred 
to 127th M. G. Co., to Co. H, 133d Inf., to 
Hdq. Co. 133d Inf., to Co. B, 133d Inf.; to 
Camp Merritt; to Boston. Sailed on Runic 
May 28; journeyed by way of Halifax; landed 
Liverpool. To Junell; to Southampton; to Le 
Havre. To St. Aignan, transferred to 116th 
Motor Suply Train, transferred to Hdq. De- 
tachment; to Nancy; to Coblenz; to Riviera 
Leave Area December 17, visited Nice. Sailed 



WOLCOTT, JOHN DRAKE 

Poland Township 

Born November 12, 1M9. Enl. November 6, 
1918. Religious Work Director, Trained at 
Camp Dodge at the Y, M. C. A. College, Chi- 
cago. Service in Camp Dodge with Y. M. C. 
A, men in general camp service — most of the 
time at Y No. 91. Promoted to Hut Secre- 
tary. Mustered out May 20, 1919. 



WOIiFE, AIiBERT T. 

Truesdale 
Born May 5, 1894. Enl. July 24, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. E, Art. B. A. Inf. 308th Art. 77th Div. 
Trained at Camp Gordon; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed from Hoboken August 28 on U. S. S. 
Plattsburg: landed Prance. Went to head- 
quarters of 77th Div., 308th Inf., in the first 
part of October; in Argonne until armistice. 
Landed in U. S. .\pril 29, 1919. with the 304th 
P. A. Mustered out May 18, 1919. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



VTRIGHT, BERNARD 
Providence Township 

Born June 8, 1897. Enl. July 15, 1918. 
Seaman 2d-cl. Guard Co. Navy. Trained at 
G. L. N. T. S.; to Camp Parragut; to Camp 
Boone two months; in hospital with influenza 
two and a half months; to Camp Decatur; to 
Camp Dewey. Mustered out January 21, 1919. 



WRIGHT, MART E. 
Providence Township 
Born December 7. 1890. Enl. February 23, 
1918. Pvt. 1st cl. Base Hosp. No. 114, Med. 
Corps. Trained at Ft. Riley until April 1; 
to Camp Crane; to Hoboken. Sailed from Ho- 
boken June 5; landed St. Nazaire June 18. To 
Camp Beau Desert; part of time in detached 
service with 2Sth Engrs. Truck and Motor- 
cycle; September 5 with Surgical Team to 
Souilly; October 20 rejoined outfit; at Bordeaux 
for operation. Sailed November 28 on U. S. 
S. Sierra; landed Hoboken December 9. To 
Camp Merritt; to Camp Dodge. Mustered out 
January 21, 1919. 

YERINGTON-, IiESTER HAROI.S 
Storm Iiake 
Born October 3, 1896. Enl. April 3, 1917. 
Sgt. 16th Kegt. Med. Corps. Trained at Jef- 
ferson Barracks. Mustered out January 16, 
1919. 

YOUNG, CKARI.es E. 

Ne'well 
Born August 1, 1891. Enl. June 15, 1918. 
Pvt. Co. 798. Training Detachment, Motor 
Transport Corps. Trained at Iowa State Col- 
lege; at Valparaiso; at Purdue; to Truck 
Masters' School for commission; at O. T. C. ; 
to Ft. Sheridan; to Hoboken. Mustered out 
March 11, 1919. 

YOUNGSTROM, RUDOI.FH A. 

Hayes Township 

Born October 8, 1893. Enl. February 24, 1918. 
Platoon sgt. Co. E, 351st Inf. S8th Division. 



Trained at Camp Dodge until August 7; to 
Camp Mills. Sailed on Scotian August 16; 
landed Liverpool August 28. To France, Sep- 
tember 3. Trained at Paulinet and Champey 
more than a month; moved up unto the Bel- 
fort sector October 6; into front line trenches 
October 19, in trenches two weeks; to rest 
camp at Chaux two weeks; to Tou! sector 
November 9; near front when armistice was 
signed; to Houdelaineourt for one month's 
after-war training; to Lif£ol-le-Grande; con- 
voyed special train into Germany, Luxemburg, 
and Lorraine to the Army of Occupation, 
Sailed from Brest May 21; landed Newport 
News June 1. To Camp Morrison; to Camp 
Dodge. Mustered out June 7, 1919. 



YOTJNGSTROM, WII.I.IAM P. 
Hayes Township 
Born February 8, 1886. Enl. January 15, 
1918. Pvt. Aviation Service. Trained at 
School of Military Aeronautics, transferred to 
to Machine Gun Branch Officers' Training 
Camp with 21st Co., at Camp Hancock. Mus- 
tered out January 2, 1919. 



ZOFPKA, JOHN H. 
Coon Township 

Born May 5, 1896. Enl. July 24, 1918. Pvt. 
Co. B, 316th Inf. 79th Div. Trained at Camp 
Gordon until August 15; to Camp Merritt. 
Sailed from Hoboken on U. S. S. Plattsburg 
August 31; landed Brest September 12. To 
St. Georges from September IS to October 2; to 
Verdun sector October 5 to 18; to Meuse-Ar- 
gonne front October 25, in offensive until 
November 4; wounded by machine-gun bullet 
through chest November 4; taken ijrisoner of 
war, released from prison November by ad- 
vance of American Forces; to Base Hosp. at 
Contrexeville November 24 until December 28; 
to Bordeaux until January 31. Sailed on 
Bastores, February 1; landed Newport News 
February 16, 1919. To Camp Stewart; to 
Camp Dodge. Mustered out March 13, 1919. 



List of Those in World War from 
Buena Vista County 

In December, 1918. when tlie publisher of this volume first started gathering 
data, a list of names of those in the service from this county was started. On the 
original list were the names secured from the library at Storm Lake, from the 
recorder's office, and those from the draft board. To this list were added other 
names as checked from the county newspapers, handed in by friends, and those 
from the family questionnaires which were sent or presented to each family in 
the county. 

As the information was received for the service records the names were checked 
oiif the list. The following list of names are those on which we have not lieen able 
to secure data. 

A personal call has been made at every home in Buena \'ista County, letters 
have been sent a number of times to the addresses given and this list of names has 
been advertised in all the papers in the county but up to the time of going to press 
(January 6, 1920) we have not been able to get these records completed. 

Some of these names, no doubt, are misspelled and we have the record under 
the proper name, others are those included through error and are not enlisted 
from this county, a large number of the names are of men who were merely tran- 
sient residents and have not returned to the county, and a few who have neglected 
to give or turn in the desired information. 

The list is published in order that all who represented Buena Msta County in 
the World War may have credit for doing so. No doubt a few names are missing 
from both this list and from the service records. To these people we can only 
express iregret. as we have conscientiously tried to have every person represented 
in this book who was entitled to mention through service rendered to our Nation 
during the past war. 



R. C. Au.spach. Sioux Rapids 
Carl A. Anderson. Sioux Rapids 
Artliur Anderson. Sioux Rapids 
Arthur W. Appel. Coon Township 
Stanley Amidown. Sioux Rapids 

Gold Star 
Albert Anderson. Alta 
Alfred Anderson. Sioux Rapids 
Wallace Alexander, ,-Mta 
Aldrich. Scott Township 
H. C. Anderson. Sioux Rapids 
Louis Alsin. Coon Township 
James Britchell 
Frank S. Buzette. Storm Lake 
Ray V. Barrick. Alta 
Oscar Berf^wall. All>ert City 
Walter A. Brookes, Lincoln Township 
Austin E. Brown, Lee Township 
Albert O. Becker. Storin Lake 
Chr. Berreson. Newell 
Emmanuel Bersr. Lincoln 
Cha.s. W. Burkholder 
Julius Ber^son 

Clayton Birchard. Lincoln Township 
Hans M. Bonde, Albert City 
Harold Carlson, Lincoln Township 



Harry Carlberg 

H. H. Carter 

Chas. Colburn. Alta 

Wm. Clifton. Storm Lake 

Clarence Coombs. Storm Lake 

Elmer Christensen 

Archie V. Cox. Scott Township 

Howard Cramer 

Chas. Coakley. Providence Township 

Ray Churtz, Grant Township 

Clyde Crist. Lincoln Township 

Raymond Christopher, Storm Lake 

Leo Cosgro^'e, Alta 

Guy Colburn. Sioux Rapids 

Joseph F. Distel. Washington Township 

Edward Deppe. Storm Lake 

George Degner. Coon Township 

Davidson, Scott Township 

Florent Uistel, Washington Township 

Theron B. Doll, Providence 

Damon P. Edwards. Storm Lake 

Philip Ellrich. Storm Lake 

John J. Egan 

George Ellright. Storm Lake 

Paul E. Ericksen, Sioux Ri\pids 

Wm. T. Elliston. Storm Lake 



224 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



Arnold E. Erling, Ijiiin Grove 

Arlie Ford. Alta 

Wm. H. Fields 

Pete Graveson. Newell 

Harry D. Gordon. Storm Lake 

Ray Greene. Storm Lake 

Edward Glynn. Sioux Rapids 

Gold Star 
Louis Gehring-. Sioux Rapids 
Wm. Glending 
Chris. Gravesen. Newell 
Franklin Giddings. Fairview 
Ross Hart. Storm Lake 
Dr. Wm. Hubbard. Rembrandt 
Urbert Holm. Lincoln Township 
Arthur Haviland. Grant Township 
Martin M. Hanson, Newell 
James K. Husted. Newell 
Fred R. Hemmimgson, Lincoln Township 
Clyde Houdershell, Storm Lake 
Raymond Hanson 
Harold H. Henkle, Alta 
Herman V. H.ielm, Nokomis Township 
Carl Ham. Washington Township 
H. M. Hahn. Sioux Rapids 
Donald Johnson. Albert City 
Manfred Johnson, Alta 
Gust Johnson. Maple Valley Township 
Pearl Wm. Johnson. Maple Valley Township 
Jens B. Jensen. Newell 
Jean Jacobsen. Alta 
Jean Jensen. Alta 
Paul Jensen. Newell 
Earnest Johnson. Nokomis Township 
Oscar E. Johnson. Albert City 
Niels J. E. Jensen. Coon Townsliip 
Eustace James, Hayes Township 
Ralph Johnson. Maple Valley Township 
Otto Johnson. Maple A'alley Township 
Everett Kinney, Scott Township 
Michael Raster. Nokomis Township 
Arthur Koth. Alta 
C. F. Kay 

John Kevane. Storm Lake 
John Koch. Maple Valley Township 
Wm. Kinney 

Paul Koch, Hayes Township 
"Wilhert W. Larson. Barnes Township 
Henry Little. Elk Township 
Otto V. Larson. Newell 
Christ A. Larson 
Clyde Leevey 
Peter L. Linding 
John R. Leach. Newell 
Severt Larson. Nokomis Township 
Max S. Littlefield 

Marinus Larson. Maple Valley Township 
Albin Larson, Maple Valley Township 
Jas. Martin 
John Montgomery 

Christ "W'. Magnusen, Hayes Township 
Conrad H. Mehkosch, Maple Valley Township 
Carl Molgaard, Linn Grove 
R. D. Morgan. Storm Lake 
Fred Moeler. Storm Lake 



Ralph Marten. Storm Lake 

C. P. Malliston. Storm Lake 

Arthur Miller. Alta 

Elzie MacDonald. Nokomis Township 

Alfred Machiprang, Coon Township 

John Matson. Washington Township 

W. H. McLain. Storm Lake 

Edwin Mickelson, Linn Grove 

Fred Meinking 

Chris. Mark. Fairview 

Hans Nielson. Newell 

Albert Nelson. Alta 

Eric A. Nissing. Hayes Township 

Marianus Nielsen. Lee Township 

Niels P. Nielson. Lincoln Township 

Niels Nielson. Newell 

Ule Olson. Linn Grove 

John Henry Otten. Scott Township 

Lars Olson. Coon Township 

Jesse Osmonsen. Fairfield Township 

John E. O'Niel, Scott Township 

John Peters. Alta 

Albert K. Peterson. Newell 

Fred C. J. Peters, Storm Lake 

Thorwald Pederson. Coon Township 

C. L. Pingel, Brooke Township 

Herbert Plagman 

J. Rutherford. Storin Lake 

Wm. Richard 

George Reed 

Chas. E. Rice. Sioux Rapids 

Samuel P. Roub, Storm Lake 

Fred W. H. Ruehle. Storm Lake 

Claude W. Robbins 

Joseph Storey. Storm Lake 

Robert Stewart 

Walter F. Streight. Storm Lake 

Ernest H. Scarborough. Nokomis Tow'nship 

Frithiof Swanson. Nokomis Township 

George A. Stanley, Brooke Township 

Henry H. Stradtman. Coon Township 

Elmert E. Swanson. Alta 

Floyed Smith. Truesdale 

Paul Starr. Washington Township 

Miss Stacy 

Nels Thompson, Nokomis Township 

Hans Tvedten, Lee Township 

Roy R. Thomsen, Maple Valley Township 

Stanley Todd. Hayes Township 

E. L. Thomas. Sioux Rapids 

Aubrey G. Thompson, Newell Township 

Roy Van Cleve 

Ira Wedge. Storm Lake 

Jacob White. Storm Lake 

Cliflord Waterman. Newell 

John Warta. Barnes Township 

Verne Welch. Storm Lake 

Frank White, Storm Lake 

Ross Wilson. Newell 

Clarence Waterman. Providence Township 

Fred D. Weiland. Scott Township 

Carl Westergaard. Newell 

Waldemar Westergaard. Newell 

Cecil Waldron. Rembrandt 




Rudolph Brecher 
Alta 



John F. Chent-y 
Newell 



A, B. Clans 
Sioux Rapids 



George Currier 
Storm Lake 




James Hervey Haughey 
Storm Lake 



William Holmes 
Scott Township 




George \V. Jolinson 
Storm Lake 



Joseph Schultz 
Providence Township 



Pr ^^* 



> 



Tyler E. Sprague 
Alta 






Christian Stamm 
Alta 




Samuel Stangland 
Alta 



Civil War Veterans — Service Records 

The editor and tlu- publisher of the War History of Jiueiia \ista County, de- 
sirous of giving; representation to the veterans of the Civil War, secured the ser- 
vice records of a number of veterans who served durinii; that period of our na- 
tional gTowtih when internal dissension threatened our united existence. With 
all honor to those men who served our country in its most trying hour in order 
that the governmental integrity of the United States might he preserved and 
developed, we present these records of military service of Civil War veterans. 
Civil War veterans were back of all of the various activities. 



BBECHEK, BtTDOIiFH 

Alta 
Born August 25. lN4:i. Enl. September 11, 
1S61. Pvt. Co. B, .3iith 111. Inf. 2cl Div. 4tli 
Army Corp.s. Battles: Pea Riilse. Pi-rryville, 
Stone Ri\-er. Vicksliurj?. Cliickamaiiga. Siege 
of C'liattanooga, Missionary Ridge. IVacli Tree 
Creek. Atlanta. Lovejoy, .lonesboi-o. Pulaski. 
Spring Hill. Franklin. Nashville. Wounded 
in head at Chickamauga. A^ustered out Octo- 
ber 13. 1865. 



CHENEY, JOHN F. 
Newell 

Born April 19. lS4i. Knl. August 15. 1SG2. 
2d Corp., Co. G. 26th Iowa Inf.. 1st Div.. 15th 
Army Corps. Service: Arkansas Post: Vicks- 
burg. August 22-28: Siege of Jack.son; to 
Branden, Miss.: at I^ookout Mnu*itain; Mission- 
ary Ridge: Ringgold: Resaca: Kenesaw Moun- 
tain: Atlanta. Jul>- 22-2S: to .lonesLtoro: I..o\ e- 
Joy .Station; Taylor's Ridge; Raid from Atlanta 
to Sa\'annali; through Soutli Carolina and 
North Carolina to Bart(m\ille. Mustered out 
at Washington. D.C.. June 6. 1S65. 



many small battles and skirmishes at differ- 
ent points in Alabama and Tennessee, and 
while marching through (Georgia and North 
Carolina. Mustered out .lune 10. 1865. 



HAUG-HE'S', JAMES HEBVET 

Storm Iiake 
Born Januar\' ill. 1N4H. lOnl. in winter of 
IStil. Pvt. Co. G. 46th Illinois Volunteer Inf. 
Trained: Jackson, Mi.ss., July 6-7; to Fort 
Blakely; in Mobile Campaign. Mustered out 
January, 1S66. 



HOLMES, WILLIAM 
Scott Township 
Born June 21. 1843. Enl. April 26. 1861. 
Pvt. Co. K, 5th (Light) Artillery. 1st Div., 
20th Army Corps. Trained: Harrisburg, Pa., 
and Washington. D.C. Battles: Siege of 
Vorktown; Mechanicsville; Gaines Hill; Gaines 
Mills; Savitz .Station; Malvern Hill; Freder- 
icksburg; C'hancellorsville; Bull Run; Antie- 
tam; Gettysburg; Atlanta; with Sherman on 
March to Sea. Mustered out at Key West, 
Fla.. February 13, 1S67. 



CLAUS, A. B. 
Sioux Bapids 

Born Mav 10. 1S4S. Enl. January 31. 1S65. 
Pvt. Co. H, 26th New York Cav. Trained: 
Sacketf's Harbor, New York. Mustered out 
July 7. 1865. 



CUBBIEB, GEOBGE 

Storm Lake 
Knl. March 2, lHlii. Pvt. Co. H, 13th Inf.. 
3(1 Div; re-enli.sted in 7th Mississippi Bittery. 
January 2, 1864. Service: Moundsville; at 
Yellow Bayou. Mustered out in November, 
1SG5. 



JOHNSON, GEORGE W. 
Storm Lake 
Pvt. Co. K. 2:Jd Wisconsin Vohinteer Inf. 
Left Madison. Wis., with the regiment Sep- 
tember 15, 1862. Battles. Chickasaw Bayou, 
December 25-31; Ft. llinaman, January 11; 
Cypress Bend. February i;t: Ft. Gibson. May 1; 
Chamnion Hill. May 16; Black River Bridge, 
May 17; Vicksburg. May 111 to July 4; Jack- 
son. July 12-23; Carrion Crow Bayou. Novem- 
ber 3; wounded and sent to prison at Sabine 
Cross Roads. April 8; Cane River, April 23; 
Jackson. La., October 5; Siege of Mobile. March 
2 to .\pril 12. 1865. Under fire, during ser- 
vice, 74 days; traveled by railroad 1.044 miles, 
by steamboat 6.478 miles. 



HABLAN, JOHN ADDISON P. 

Storm Lake 

Born January 1. 1X4 1. Knl. August 12. 
1S62. Corp. Co. A, 39th Iowa Inf.. 4th Div., 
15th Army Corps. Service: Pasher's Cross 
Roads; Altoona. Ga.; saw active service in 



MADSON, N. 

Storm Lake 

Born April 21, 1.S4::. Enl. July 23. 1864. 

Pvt. Co. A. 13th Wis. Regt. Landed in U. S., 

May 20, 1864. Mustered out at San Antonio, 

Texas, November 24, 1865. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA MSTA COUNTY 227 



MATSON, CHARLES P. 

Storm Iiake 

Born February 27, 1847. Eiil. October 1. 

1S64. Pvt. Co. B, 44th Wis. Inf. Trained: 

Nasliville. Tenn. MiKstered i>iit August 2S. 

1S65.. 



MOORE, HENRY G. 

Storm Iiake 

Enl. August 5. 18fi3. at age of 21 years. Pvt. 
Co. K, 8th Iowa Cavalry. Mustered out at 
Macon, Oa., August 13, 1S{;5. 



SCHUI.TZ, JOSEPH 
Providence Townsliip 
Born April 22, 1837. Enl. A\igust 27. 1S63. 
Pvt. Co. F, 76th Penn. Inf. Traini'd: Hilton 
Head Island. Was in all the sliirmislii-s around 
Petersburg: wounded when tin- I'uri was l.>lo\\'n 
up at Peter.sburg. Discliarged, on account of 
physical disaliility. June 2. l.siir*. 



Company. Capt. James Hankins. Mustered 
out at Davenport, Iowa. September 23. 1864. 
Tlie 4(Jth Inf. was a lOO-iiay regiment. It 
went into ser\'ice at Davenpi^rt. June 10. 1S64, 
was sent to Cairo and tlience to Mempliis, ar- 
ri\"ing June 20. Tlu- regiment on .lune 27 
was ordered to Camp KooUout ^\■i^ere tlie men 
did lieavy duty on picliet and had several light 
sliirmishes in August. Returned to Memphis 
September 10, 1864; to Davenport to be mus- 
tered out. 



SPBAGUE, TYI.ER E. 

Alta 
Born December 21, 1S4.".. Enl. January 24, 
1862: re-enlisted January .'i, 1.S64. Sgt. Co. 
G. 8th Vermont Inf.. 2d Brig., 1st Div., I9th 
Army Corps. Promotions: Corporal .lanuary 
1. 1S64: Sergeant, July 1, 1SB4. Service: Siege 
of Poi't Hudson under constant tire for forty- 
four days, the regiment suffi-ring daily casual- 
ties: also in several other battles and skirm- 
ishes. Mustered out June 2S, IS65. 



SCOVEIi, HENRY JASPER 

Newell 
Born January 7, 1839. Enl. October 19, 1S64. 
Pvt. Co. D, 4th Inf.. 1st Div. Service: Savan- 
nah. Ga.: Bartonsville. N. C; Raleigh. N. C; 
with Sherman on March to the Sea. Mustered 
out at Louisville, Kentucky. 



STAMIKI, CHRISTIAN 

Alta 
Born November 7. lM:i. iOnl. June 4, ISfil. 
Pvt. Co. G, 20th 111. Inf. Trained: Joliet. 111. 
Pvt. Stamm's regiment was one of the regi- 
ments of the First Call for 7ri.(iilO men. Ser- 
vice: In action undel" (lenerals (Jrant. IjOgan, 
and McPherson. Mustered out June 22, 1864. 



SmTR, ROBERT H. 

Newell 
Born August 14. 1X47. Knl. June 10. 1864. 
Pvt. Co. F, 46th Io%va Inf. In training dur- 
ing entire period of service. Commander of 
regiment. Col. D. B. Henderson: Captain of 



STANai.AND, SAMTTEI. 

Alta 

lanuary :;7, 1M2. Enl. February 28, 



Born 

IS6,'.. Pvt. Co. H, 
Chattanooga, Tenn, 
27, 1S65. 



l.^iSth 111. Inf. Trained: 
Mustered out September 



There are 
tret data. 



a nuiiihcr i 



if others ill the countv from wlioni we were not able to 



J> 



"Babies 

Buena Visia County Babies born while Their Fathers were in the Service 




George C. Barnes 
Providence Township 
Parents: Mr. and Mrs. 
George C. Barnes. 



Claude Merle Bright 
Sioux Rapids 
Parents: Claude L. Bright 
(deceased) and Mrs. Claude 
L. Bright. 



Huena Jane Caskey 
Rembrandt 
Parents: Mr. and Mrs. B. 
K. Caskey. 



Venetta Jt-an Goodness 

Storm Lake 
Parents: Mr. and Mrs. 
Frank Goodness. 




Donald Holderness 
Nokomis Township 
Parents: Mr. and Mrs. 
Aaron B. Holderness. 



Jt-annette Alvira Hackt-rson _ Newell 

Albert City Parents: Mr. and Mrs. 

Parents: Mr. and Mrs. Al- Denton Layman. 
bert Hackerson. 



Arnold Marius Olsen 
Newell 
Parents: Mr. and Mrs. 
Marius J. Olsen. 






Helen Mari-- l'<if.i 
Newell 
Parents: Mr. and 
Alex. Porath. 



Newell 
Parents: Mr. and 
Charles Peterson. 



Dorothy Lorene Tolliver 

Storm Lake 
Parents: Otis Tolliver 
(deceased) and Mrs. Otis 
Tolliver. 




72 

O 
60 













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5=S 













e 

o 









6 = 

o _ 
O £ 







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so 

o . 



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o M 



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Men. 






i,'«": ( 








CITISENS 


OF 


5T0RMLRK 


AND 


UICINITY 





Barbara Harding, daushtL-r of Governor and 
Mrs. W. L. Harding, and crated goose pre- 
sented to the governor. This goose brought 
S.S.nnn at Red Oross s-.Ue 



Buena Vi.sta county "Ilainbow" bo>' in gas 
mask. Guess who 




Highview Red Cross sale March 18, 1918. Tlie calf on the auctioner's block brought $497,74 

at auction 




*. 7 



storm Laki- l-'iie i leiiaTtim-iit in Armistice Day Parade, 1918 




Public speeches, Armistice Day, 1918. T. H. Cliapman and Stanton dinger of Buena Vista 

College, spealving 





Selective service contingent leaving Storm Lake. July 25. 191S 




Spruce log on motor truck lU W iHiams Landing. Washington 




E. B. Ackerman and the goose that was sold and resold ""«»%'" Hard'ini''""" "'^^ "'''""'' 
This goose was later presented to Governor W . L. Haiding 




Highview service Has 




Alta lieil Cross goat. Presented by Eimer and Everett 

Sandine. sons of Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Sandine; sold for 

$6,000 




- >-> 




.... ..-i^Sff^tk 



Twelve-inch mortar, Fortress Monroe, Virginia. Projectile 

weighs 1,070 pounds, shoots four and a half miles in the 

air. and at a maximum range of 15,000 yards 




American rolling kitchen at Niederzissen, Germany. Left cross marks Fred Robinson; 

right cross marks Walter Crissy 



Interesting Views Sent Home by 
Buena Vista County Men 




A German offloeis' tlug-oiit — a stronghold built of successive layers of steel and concrete 

several feet in thicl<ness 




Captured German ammunition carts. Oscar J. Olsen to riglit. Photo taken by group of 

American Engineers 




Salvage gatlnr-rcd by EriKiiii. r.s. H.:i|i.s sinillar tu tliis were gathered every few roils and 
cnntained material of every description 




Puvenelle woods 




In the Puvenelle Woods near Metz. showing a heavily shelled area formerly the German first 
line. A mass of barbed wire, trenches, shell holes and shattered trees — truly "No Man's 

Land" 




Gorman uiulorgroiiml kitclipii used by the Yanks. Note "Kas alar'ni" and sin II si'arreii tree 




I''ay-en-Ha>'r, I''i-anco 




Harhed wire entanfjl'enicnts in tlu' St. Miliii-1 Srctm-. Mostly of (terman construction, but 
later rebuilt and strengtlioned by the Yanks to bold off Oernian oonnter-attack.s. The irreg- 
ular lines in the distance arc successiye waves of wire 




One of the lar^t^r shell hoU^s — the result of an aerial bomb 





German observation post in a forest 



Billets back of second lines. Badonvillers, 
Lorraine front. Company M, 168th Regt. 




Chris Jorgensen says he found more comfort lu-re than at any place he visited 




German prisoners working ^'H t'"' di-cks at St. Nazair 







^i-'^jpic- 



Y-A 






Ad 



:i^';:ii 



Li3 






^V«}..»J». 



-- ^jl^-. 



momii ififo action "^fi'ance ' 




A typical German dug-out. occupied hy the Vanl<s after its capture. The shelter at the left 

of the entrance protected the gas guard at night froin flying shell fragments. Suspended 

from the post at the right is a short length of railroad rail used as a gas alarm. In the 

left hand corner can be seen a "dud." a shell that failed to explode 




Village of Flirey. France 




Yanks in front line trencli watcliing "Xo-Man's Land," France 




Camouflaged Road 



U. S. Coast Artillery 







U. S. S. Rambler 



American Ambulance 




Our Honored Dead 



Ruined Homes 




American Camp in I^orraine Sector. ;it Vaux-i t-i 'luiiUegrue 









"No-Man's Land," Lorraine Sector 



.Marshal Foch and General Pershing at L'hauniont, 
General Headquarters 




German machine gun. I''ilm from which this picture was printeil was found on the battlc- 
fleld at Thiacourt by Carl E. Jolinson. Albert City 








Near a dug-out in France. Leo McFadden, a Buena Vista 
county gold star man. is in this picture 



w 




, i 








it#:i,. -.,v«B.-^ 




.yr" '^•,'^4ml^ 


:5;^.,;,,;./' -•;.., ' 






fe.;i' -.•'■ 1^^ ■ 







Grave nf Ted Butler, one of the first nun m ("nmpany M, 
16Sth Infantry, who met death; Lorraine front 




Horses killed by German bombardment on Champagne front 











.»^ 





United States army observation Ijalloon, talien at Balloon School, A. 

inllated and ready to ascend 



1'^. F. Saiisaij 




In DuCf mbt-r, li'lT. when the Amer- 
ican fleet arrived in En,T:land. two 
British planes were stunting: above 
the U. S. S. Wyomins". They clashed 
together about 2011 feet off the star- 
board beam of the battleship. One 
man was saved, but two went down 
witli the planes. About a month 
later when the Wyoming was hoist- 
ing anchor one of the planes caught 
and was hauled up. It wns one 
of the missing planes with the 
pilot strapped in his seat. Tlie 
photograph is furnished by Henry 
K. Reese, an Alta man wlio was a 
musician on the Wyoming 




HOME! 






Doi-othy Gregg 
Storm Lake 



Blanche Olson 
8torm Lake 



Mary L. McKee 
Storm Lake 





Anna Riley 
Storm Lake 



Liirene Swope 
Storm Lake 



With the call for nu-n for the army ;tiul navy camo a call for trained stenographic and 
office workers to take care of the immense amount of details necesi=ary to keepinpr proper 
record of all the war activities. Girls from all over the U. S. A. answered the call as they 
could fill the places of many men who were more needed in active service. 

The war department erected a great many dormitories to accommodate tlie large additional 
population of the city of Washington. 

The following young ladies from Buena Vista county answered the call: Gladys Burke, 
Dorothy Gregg, Christy Haughey. Marjorie Oates, Blanche Olson, Esther Point. Lurene 
Swope. Merle Soeth. Kdna Unger, and Ethel Van Cleve. 




Red Cross Motor Transnort Corps. Storm Lake 




M. O'Connor and Newell Red Cross Turkey which w-as donated and sold for $3,100 




(".roup of cliartHi- mcobcrs of what was originally oiganized as the War Mothers' Service Club; later nierj 

national organization of War Mothers of America 




Poland Township ICxccuti-\'e <;'omriiittee War Service Association: Sanford 
Lundgren. chairman; Chas. Thomas, J. W. Tremain, Frank Lally, Will Geary 




W. F. Anderson 

Linn Grove 

County Food Administrator 



Henry !■■. Almliulu 

Coon 

Exec. Com. War Service 



Geo. B. And. 1.SMU 

Barnes 

Chairman Wood Fuel 



Miss Beda Anderson 

LincoIn-L.ee 
Secretary Red Cross 




James G. Anderson 

Coon 
Council of Defense 



AV. G. Avenall 

Providence 

Exec. Com. War Service 



Ira Angier 

Storm Lalve Township 

Exec. Com. War Service 



J. H. Allen 

Alt a 
Exec. Com. War Service 




Miss Edna Bradley 

Hig;hvi«-w 
Secretary Red Cross 



A. H. Barnett 

Linn Grove 

Council of Defense 



Fred C. Bitter 

Sulphur Springs 

Food Administrator 



Nils Children 

Brooke 

Exec. Com. War Service 




Dr. E. D. Bangheart 

Storm Lake 

Medical Examiner Draft Bd. 



A. L. Bergiing 

Albert City 

Exec. Com. War Service 



Chas. Blomgren 

ILiincoln 

Exec. Com. War Service 



.1. R. Bell 

Storm Lake 

Publicity Liberty Loan 




Mrs. B. S. i;i,\s.iii Oscar Bodine O. L. Byam S.A.Bennett 

Albert City Scott Lee Lee 

Women's Defense Council Exec. Com. War Service Exec. Com. War Service Exec. Com. War Service 




Mrs. R. J. Bradley 

Highview 

Chairman Red Cross 



Mrs. Hoy Burr 

Sioux Rapids 

Secretary Red Cross 



Henry Berg 

Linn Grove 

Exec. Com. War Service 



H. C. Bodholt 

Providence 

Exec. Com. War Service 




O. F. Bellows 

Coon 

Exec. Com. War Service 



J. E. Bulanil 

Storm Lake 

Legal Advisory Board 



J. C. Bell 

Storm Lake 

Co. Baker Rep. Food Admr. 



Mrs. Geo. Chaney 

Newell 

Cliairman Red Cross 




Pat Clancy 

Storm Lake 

Co. Enforcement Repr. 



Mr.s. Martin i 'liri.stensen H. H. ('ovey ii-a Canon 

Sioux Rapids Rembrandt Hayes 

Vice Chairman Red Cross County Fuel Administrator Climn. War Service Assn. 




D. H. Carpenter 

Alta 

Council of Defense 



Otto Dokken 

Linn Grove 

Exec. Com. War Service 



Jas. De Land 

Storm Lake 

Chmn. Legal Advisory Bd. 



T. E. De Spain 

Lincoln 

Exec. Com. War Service 




Dr. J. A. Delahunt 

Marathon 
Food Administrator 



.1. J. Dulty 

Storm Lalce 

Price Int. Food Admr. 



Mrs. I. P. Davidson 

Sioux Rapids 

Vice Cliairman Red Cross 



Alfii-d Daniilsdn 

Altjert City 

Exec. Com. War Service 




W. C. Kdson 

Storm Lalie 

Bureau Military Affairs 



T. D. F.ilers 

Storm Lalie 

County Food Administrate: 



J. T. Edson 

Storm Lake Townsliip 

Exec. Com. War Ser\'ice 



W. L. Ernst 

Ijincoln 

Cliairman War Stamps 





I 



Mrs. W. D. Ernst 

Truesdale 

Cliairman Red Cross 



Oscar Erickson 

Linn Grove 

Exec. Com. War Service 



Mrs. H. E. Erickson 

Linn Grove 

Vice Chairman Red Cross 




H. C. Erickson 

Brooke 

Exec. Com. War Service 




Ben Eno 

Washington 

Exec. Com. War Service 



C. O. Frii-.llunil 

Linn Gro\e 

Exec. Com. Wai- Service 



Geo. Rov planning 

Scott 
Council of Defense 



Mrs. Geo. R. Fanning 

Fairview 
Cliairman Red Cross 





Laura H. Figert 

Mai'athon 

Cliairman \\'ar Stamps 



I-'ncl I'. l''oster 

Storm lvalue 

Bui'eau Military Affairs 



W. E. Gaffey 

Hays 

Council of Defense 



\Vm. Gutel 

"V^'aslling:ton 

Chnin. War Service Assn. 




W. L. Geisinger C- M- Hanson H. .T. Hahne fi- R- Haines 

Storni Lake Townshio '^^'^ Storm Lake Hays 

Exec. Com. War Service Exec. Com. War Service Bureau Military Affairs Chmn. 11th Dist. War Em. 




J. M. Hussey 

West Grant 

Chmn. War Service Assn. 



Miss Gertrude Hanson Mrs. O. H. Hesla A. B. Heatli 

Fairview lL,inn Grove Providence 

Secretary Red Cross Vice Cliairman Red Cross Exec. Com. War Service 



L- 




T. F. Houseliolder Henry Hadenfeldt A. E. Harrison 

Newell Township Lincoln Storm Lake 

Chmn. War Service Assn. Exec. Com. War Service Chairman Victory Boys 



Henry Haase 

Fairview 

Treasurer Red Cross 





Miss Mae Hamilton 

Storm Lake 

Publicity Food Admr. 



V. E. Herbert 

Storm Lake 

Council of Defense 



Mrs. Wm. Haxby 

Hiirhview 

Women's Defense Council 



F. F. Higgins 

Grant 

Council of Defense 





N. H. Johnson .Toc-1 E. Johnson 

Storm Lake Sec. B. V. Co. Farm Imp. 

Secretary Y. M. C. A. Drive Assn. 



' ;. Jnlmson 
Elk 
Exec. Com. War Service 



Anilrew Jolinson 

Linn Grove 

Exec. Com. War Service 




Mrs. Geo. A. Johnson 

Highview 
Treasurer Red Cross 



James Jensen 

Providence 

Exec. Com. War Service 



A. Kacmarynski Miss Bertha Knight 

Scott Storm Lake 

Exec. Com. War Service County Demonstration Agt. 




Mrs. R. U. Kinne 

Storm Lake 

Secretary Red Cross 



Roy U. Kinne 

Storm Lake 

Legal Advisory Board 



L. P. Lund 

Newell Township 

Exec. Com. War Service 



Frank Lindllef 

Brooke 

Chmn. War Service Assn. 




James Lewiston J. O. Landsness 

Linn Orove Lee 

Exec. Com. ^Ya^ Service Chairman War Stamps 



Levi G. Landsness 

Lee 

Treasurer Red Cross 



Geo. H. Larson 

Nokomis 

Chmn. War Service Assn. 




Miss Alice Larson 

Albert City 
Secretary Red Cross 



K. F. Layman Dr. J. W. Morrison Clios. H. J. Mitchell 

Newell Alta Storm Lake 

Exec. Com. War Service Medical Examiner Dft. Bd. Ciim. Speakers Liberty Loan 




Fred Mangold 

Linn Grove 

Exec. Com. War Service 



Mrs. Will McGrew 

Rembrandt 

Secretary Red Cross 



Mrs. C. T. Millard 

Storm Lake 

County Chmn. Women's 



Guy E. Mack 

Storm Lake 

Gov. Appeal ARt. Draft Bd. 

Defense Council 




Miss Mabel F. Moore 

Albert City 
Secretary Red Cross 



Ilev. W. T. Mclinnald 

Storm Lake 

Co. Chmn. Armenian Relief 



.S. H. McCIure 

Storm Lake 

Publicity Work 



Peter Mutson 

Nokomis 

Exec. Com. War Service 




Jens Miller 

Elk 

Council of Defense 



E. M. Xlatzdorf 

Elk 

Climn. War Ser\ice Assn. 



W. .J. Miller 

Marathon 

Chmn. War Si-i'vice Assn. 



Alfred O. Meinliard 

Hays 

Exec. Com. War Service 




Jos. E. Morcombe 
Storm Lake 



Dr. L. M. Nusbaum (dec'd) 

Storm Lake 

Organized Red Cross 



N. P. Nelson 

Linn Grove 

Exec. Com. War Service 



N. G. Olney 

Marathon 

Exec. Com. War Service 




Mrs. J. II. ()'i>(inuluK- 

Ktorni Laki' 
Chairman Red Cross 



i:. W. I>;it.s A. N. I'trtersuli 

Storm Lake Elk 

Bureau of Militar.v Affairs lOxec. Com. War Service 



( iscar I'flcrsnn 

Maple Valley 

Chairman War Service 




Mrs. Geo. M. I'ederson Geo. M. Peilerson 

Storm I^ake Storm Lake 

Chairman Ucil Cross I'.uri-au of Military Affairs 



Mrs. Wm. Kutter 

Ijinn Grove 

r'linirman Ked Cross 



Tom Kenshaw 

Hays 

Kxec. Com. War Service 





F. G. Kedli.hi 

Newell 

Food Administrator 



C. A. Robbins 

Storm Lake Township 

Clinm. War Service Assn. 



M. (>. Keuland 

Lincoln 

Chmii. War Service Assn. 



Chas. H. Rawlins 

Storm Lake 
Asst. Draft Board 




Oscar A. Uisviilil li.n. .1. Scllllln- Mrs. J. A. Sclimitz .1. A. Srhiiiil/. 

Linn (Jrovc Storm Lakf Storm I.,ak<' Storm Uake 

Exec. Com. War Service Couiit.N" Climn. Lilierty Loan \'ice Cliaii'man Red Cro.'^s Climn. ■•"'uel Administration 




P. J. Swanson Mrs. l!eo, A. Seilsewicli 

Noltomis Storm I.,alse 

Exec. Com. War Service Si'c-retary lied Cross 



AuKU.«t SleUnuDi L. M. Slasle 

l^ineoln Storm l..ake 

lOxec. Com. War .Service Co. Merch. Hep. l'"ooil .\ilmr. 




A. E. Sweet 

Ijincoln 

Exec. Com. War Service 



Mrs. Jennie Smitli 

Albert Cit.v 

Cli.airman Red Cross 



C. !■". Sluhlniiller 

Linn (:rn\.- 

Exec. Com. War Se!-vice 



(J. M. Sherman 

.Sioux Ilanids 

I*iil>iicit>' \A*oii« 




.Mrs. G. M. Sherman 

Sioux Rapids 
Secretary Red Cross 



Mrs. R. R. Smith 

Lincoln-Lee 

Chairman Red Cross 



Mrs. M. R. Soeth 

Marathon 

Secretary Red Cross 



M. i;. SoLtii 

Marathon 
Publicity Work 




F. Schaller 
Storm Lake 
Liberty Loan 



W M Storev Dr. J. A. Swallum Dr. E. F. Smith 

"torm Lake Storm Lake Storm Lake 

County Treasurer Y M C .-^ Medical Examiner Draft Bd. Contract Surgeon S. A. T. C. 




Peter Strom 

Nokomis 

Exec. Com. War Service 



H. D. Thieman 

Coon 

Exec. Com. \\'ar Service 



Mrs. E. C. Thatcher 

Alta 

Publicity Work 



P. J. Toohey 
Storm Lake 
Bureau of Military Affairs 




U. V. Thomsrn 

Truesdale 

Legal Advisory Board 



S. A. T re man 

Storm Lake 

Price Int. Food Admr. 



T. Tlionias 

Storm Lake Township 

Exec. Com. War Service 



1). W. Tliomas 

Rembrandt 

Chmn. War Service Assn. 




P, C. Toy 

Storm Lake 

Treasurer Red Cross 



A, T. Troeger 

Storm Lake 

Clim. Price Int. Food Admi 



Mrs. Ed Vogel 

Truesdale 

Vice Cliairman Red Cross 



Mrs. J. ^Vilkc■ns^>n 

Alta 

Cliairman Red Cross 





¥/^/" 







E. P. Wright Miss Elizabetli Walpole 

Providence Storm Lake 

County Council of Defense Sec. Library War Service 



G. W. Wevraucli 

Klk 

Chairman War Stamps 



John W. Wart 

Newell Township 

Exec. Com. War Service 






Wm. Wellmerling 

Lincoln 

Exec. Com. War Service 



Mrs. E. B. Wells 

Marathon 

Vice Chairman Red Cross 



Mrs. A. W. Wilson 

Sioux Rapids 

Chairman Red Cross 






Mrs. R. L. White 

Sioux Rapids 

Chairman Red Cross 



A. L. Whitney 

Storm Lake 

Co. Chm. Council of Defense 



Chas. Zwemke 

Maple Valley 

Exec. Com. War Service 





Mrs. Rawn 

Alta 

Secretary Red Cross 



LAYING THE BACKGROUND 

IN a volume such as this, it is not to be expected that any large dis- 
cussion of the World War shall be given place. The story at first 
hand from local participants is the primary object of the book. Yet 
a certain background must be furnished if there is understanding of 
these narratives. For without such general survey there would be 
incoherency and lack of order in the entire work. 

It is not necessary to introduce the causes which brought about the 
unprecedented conflict. Students of affairs will place as most im- 
portant the clashing interests to which they themselves have given 
most attention. The material factors had slowly accumulated strength 
and in variance of objection to each other. The tragedy at Serajevo 
was but the kindling of heaped combustibles which had been gathering 
for a century. Beyond all in importance were what might be termed 
the spiritual issues involved. It was primarily a clash inevitable 
between the democratic aspirations of the world and those who still 
held to the exploitation of the people by a caste which held themselves 
divinely appointed and guided. The skirmishes v/hich preceded the 
actual outbreak of war showed themselves in the affairs of every 
nation, and were the constant struggles for a larger freedom and as 
constant an effort to repress every such aspiration. Students and 
thinkers had long regretted the vmstable condition of affairs and it 
was but a question of time to such minds when armed conflict should 
result. That there were economic rivalries, industrial greeds, and 
dynastic ambitions which entered into the problem is beyond question, 
but these were incidental to the greater and moral issues involved. 

Yet for all the mental preparation, not even the responsible states- 
men of Europe were ready for the quick movements which in August 
of 1914 ushered in the most tremendous strviggle in all history. With 
the exception of those who were resolved upon a test of strength and 
who only sought an excuse which might pass for the time with their 



276 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

own people, the chancellories of Europe were helpless as against the 
sudden onrush of events. The great military machine of the central 
empires moved swiftly and relentlessly on its course as a result of 
almost half a century of construction and testing. As against this 
huge war-making power the other nations could oppose but little in 
comparison. The first drive on the western front through Belgium 
to strike at the heart of France was expected to carry all before it and 
to result in a short and decisive campaign. As against Russia, the 
movement could be more deliberate, as the very extent and inharmoni- 
ous nature of that country precluded any rapid mobilization of forces. 
But the plans and theories of the German general staff were shattered 
by the heroic, yet inevitably futile defense of the Belgians. And at 
the outset another factor with which the war-lord and his advisers had 
not reckoned was the immediate entry of the British Empire into the 
struggle. Almost iinmediately the naval strength of Britain was 
loosed in the North Sea while the cruising squadrons of the greatest 
maritime power swept all the seas and obliterated general commerce. 
Then in the first few days of the war was applied that slowly strang- 
ling process which was never released during the four years of war and 
which finally brought the boasted German fleet out of its security as 
prison ships held without a fight. The further and more important 
result was, of course, the blockade which kept from the harrassed and 
starving population all the necessities of life. It is idle now to attempt 
any final estimate of the various forces employed by the Allies, yet it is 
safe to say that history will account to the British navy a part second 
to none in bringing about the final result. 

We will not consider now the following, the earlier years of this 
struggle, except insofar as the making plain of issues brought the 
United States to a realization of its own duty. Upon the surface we 
looked to the unrestricted submarine warfare and the ruthless sinking 
of passenger ships, with the murder of women and children, as being 
the immediate cause of our entry into the war. Yet back of this and 
seizing upon these incidents as concrete causes, we find a popular con- 
viction growing among all the people that this country could not be true 
to its principles and avoid taking its part and paying its share so that 
the common danger of civilization should be crushed. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 27-/ 

It was no sudden enthusiasm nor emotion that brought the admin- 
istration of the United States to its momentous decision. Very slowly 
and deliberately — too deliberately, as many thought at the time — the 
statesmen of America attempted to bring into the controversy new and 
more Hberal ideas as between the belligerents, but as has been before 
said tlie issues were spiritual rather than material, and these could 
not be met nor solved by any diplomatic phrase nor put off by any eva- 
sions. The Russian revolution and the collapse of that great country 
left the Allied cause for a time in a precarious condition. Added to 
this the Italian battle began. Capratho increased the danger of an 
overwhelming victory for the Central Powers. It was at this juncture 
when the arrogance of the German war machine went farther than 
ever before and when, despite the protests of the American govern- 
ment, it resolved upon ruthless and unrestricted warfare. The actual 
fact of the matter is that the United States had at last come to a per- 
ception of duty and to the realization that at whatever cost it must 
thenceforth take its future part in the struggle and pay its full share 
of the cost in bringing about a righteous decision. 

There is reason to believe that the President and his advisers waited 
patiently and moved cautiously until such time as American public 
opinion should support a definite break with Germany. Yet through- 
out this period there is to be noticed a constant increase of firmness in 
the tone of American diplomatic exchanges with the Teutonic Empire 
and its allies. Matters came near to a head with the proclamation of a 
state of armed neutrality in March, 1917. It will be remembered that 
the President came before Congress late in February and asked from 
the legislative body authority to arm American ships traversing the 
war zone. A resolution to this effect was passed enthusiastically by 
the House but was defeated in the Senate by a mere handful of pacifists. 
Thus thrown back upon his own authority. President Wilson deter- 
mined that American ships should be armed as desired, and able to 
defend themselves against the piratical attacks from German sub- 
marines. It was but a short step from this to the actual rush of war. 

One can do no better in presenting the real motives of the United 
States than to take these words from President Wilson that were 
delivered before Congress on January 8, 1918, and are part of the 



278 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

speech made notable because of the progress then enumerated and 
known to man as the fourteen points : 

We entered this war because violation of right had occurred which 
touched us to the quick and made the life of our people impossible 
unless they were corrected and the world secured once for all against 
their recurrence. 

What we demand in this war, therefore, is nothing peculiar to our- 
selves. It is that the world be made fit and safe to live in and par- 
ticularly that it be made safe for every peace-loving nation which, like 
our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own institutions, be 
assured of justice and fair dealing by the other peoples of the world 
as against force and selfish aggression. 

All the peoples of the world are in efifect partners in this interest, 
and for our own part we see very clearly that unless justice be brought 
to others it will not be done to us. . . 

For such arrangements and covenants we are willing to fight and 
continue to fight until they are achieved ; but only because we wish the 
right to prevail and desire a just and stable peace such as can be 
secured only by removing the chief provocations to war. We have 
no jealousy of German greatness and there is nothing in this program 
that impairs it. . . 

Ours is the principle of justice to all peoples and nationalities, and 
their right to live on equal terms of liberty and safety with one another, 
whether they be strong or weak. Unless this principle be made its 
foundation, no part of the structure of international justice can stand. 
The people of the United States could act upon no other principle ; and 
to the vindication of this principle they are ready to devote their lives, 
their honor, and everything that they possess. The moral climax of 
this, the culminating and final war for human liberty has come, and 
they are ready to put their own strength, their own highest purpose, 
their own integrity and devotion to the test. 

The concreteness of the great Allied nations in these principles may 
be judged from the speech of Lloyd George, the British premier, deliv- 
ered three days before that of President Wilson as here quoted. In 
this the world was told: 

If, then, we are asked what we are fighting for, we reply, as we have 
often replied : We are fighting for a just and a lasting peace, and we 
believe that before permanent peace can be hoped for three conditions 
must be fulfilled: First, the sanctity of treaties must be reestab- 
lished; secondly, a territorial settlement must be secured, based on 
the right of self-determination or the consent of the governed; and. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 279 

lastly, we must seek, by the creation of some international organization, 
to limit the burden of armaments and diminish the probability of war. 
On these conditions, our people are prepared to make even greater 
sacrifices than those they have yet endured. 

On April 2d, President Wilson appeared before a joint session of 
Congress and asked for a declaration of a state of war with Germany. 
In presenting to that body this momentous document the President 
proclaimed the sentiments of the nation and in words that will be 
counted among the greatest historical monuments of the war. He 
said: 

Neutrality is no longer feasible or desirable where the peace of the 
world is involved and the freedom of its peoples, and the menace to that 
peace and freedom lies in the existence of autocratic governments 
backed by organized force which is controlled wholly by their will, not 
by the will of their people. We have seen the last of neutrality in 
such circumstances. We are the beginning of an age in which it will 
be insisted that the same standards of conduct and of responsibility 
for wrong done shall be observed among nations and their govern- 
ments that are observed among the individual citizens of civilized 
states. 

Here is a clear cut statement of what has before been termed the 
spiritual issues of the World War. It was and is a tendency against 
autocracy, the rights of the people against a privileged class or caste, 
whether political or militarist. 

In response to the President's request, the Senate of the United 
States on April 4th, by a vote of 82 to 6, passed a resolution declaring 
this state of war with the Imperial German Government. This was, 
on the 6th of April, concurred in by the House by a vote of 373 to 50. 

Immediately the great energies of the nation were turned to a new 
direction. Every industry was mobilized in such manner that it might 
aid in assuring victory for the cause espoused by this country. We 
live too close to that time to appreciate what was meant by the radical 
change in the national life; that there were extravagances and huge 
mistakes made goes without saying. That could not be avoided. 

But the decision of the American people had instant influence beyond 
mere estimation upon those already engaged. To the Allied nations, 
almost exhausted with their long efforts and great sacrifices, the assur- 
ance of American assistance gave them new life. The effect upon 



28o HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Germany, in spite of the published statements of her miUtary and 
pohtical leaders, was depressing in the extreme. The bulk of the 
population in the Central Empires, who had borne almost uncomplain- 
ingly the hardships involved by the blockade, now despaired of the 
success which had been so constantly promised by their leaders as 
against the man power and limitless material wealth of the United 
States. They could not hope for anything but defeat. Thus the moral 
strength brought to the Allies by the American decision was felt long 
before any of our battalions were ready to cross the ocean. Now, 
having put its hand to the plow, our country was determined that the 
furrow should go deep and straight. On May 17th, the Senate passed 
the arni}^ draft bill which immediately was followed by united action in 
the House, and the next day it was signed by the President. As a re- 
sult of this law, on June 5th nearly 10,000,000 men of military age reg- 
istered for compulsory military service under the selective draft law. 
During the same month the first Liberty Loan for $2,000,000,000 was 
put before the people and despite its novelty was oversubscribed by 
$700,050,000. 

Thus given the men and the means, the military and naval depart- 
ments of the government hummed with activity. The navy being 
from its very nature more advanced in preparedness was able very 
shortly to send a fleet of destroyers across the Atlantic where it joined 
with the English vessels in making relentless war upon the lurking 
submarines. American ingenuity and daring did very much even 
beyond the movements of the navy to reduce the danger in the narrow 
seas. 

We can do no more than follow briefly the military activities. 
Almost immediately with the registration of men under the selective 
draft, camps were established at convenient points over the country 
and an army of 500,000 was called for from among the young men. 
It should be said, however, that thousands of the more ardent had 
already volunteered and had been assigned to training and to duty 
M'ith the existing units. But the dominant factor was the citizen 
army to be raised over the country, and the Allies realized it, and here 
again was a surprise for those who had reasoned from European ex- 
perience. It had been held there, among military men, that a period 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 281 

of at least three years was necessary for the training and making of a 
soldier. The intelligence of American youth and the energy of those 
who were placed as officers and instructors proved that the raw mate- 
rial could be turned into service soldiery within a comparatively few 
months. It is true that when our lads went abroad they had to be 
seasoned, and even the best of our officers trained again in a warfare 
that was constantly changing, and it is also true that our impetuous 
boys sufifered beyond the necessity, perhaps, because of their ardor. 
But these very qualities which may have seemed recklessness to the 
veterans in France were of splendid effect in that the jaded enemy 
could oppose nothing of equal value, while the example to the Allied 
troops was beyond any estimation of worth. The first American 
troops were sent into the war fields long before the War Department 
had intended they should be moved. They went in response to the 
almost despairing cries from France and England. The moral efifect 
of American soldiers at the front, and the sight of their flag among 
the Allied colors, was relied upon for its effect upon both friend and 
enemy. 

It is with this period of the war history, that our own immediate 
interest begins. And those from this locality were among the first 
troops to be sent over, and every succeeding contingent had in it some 
of our local boys. These were in the French and American training 
camps learning in the school of the soldier the duties and discipline 
which fitted men for the greatest game that can be played upon the 
world stage. Quick-witted scholars were these, as all their instructors, 
of whatever nation, enthusiastically admitted. We have their stories 
in this volume, of the training camps, the home, the movements from 
point to point, the voyage overseas, the experiences in rest camps, and 
then the gradual movements nearer and nearer to the trenches and the 
battle lines. We cannot appreciate the war laddies. These young 
men were transported into the midst of the greatest events of all his- 
tory, each intent on doing his share in the mighty episodes. Every 
one of these narratives will be read through the years to come, and with 
an ever increasing interest. Thus now their greatest value is that 
they are written in the simple and unaft'ected language of those we 
know so well. Another generation, having gained perspective, will 



282 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

be able to gauge these men as we can not hope to do, to understand 
their heroism, to judge the extent of their sacrifices. And these words 
have no other purpose than to form a background here and there for 
the stories themselves to show in a manner, what part of the war game 
this one and the other played. The object is that thus a coherent story 
may be woven from all and that the part of this county may be appre- 
hended from beginning to end of the American participation in the 
struggle. 



DIPLOMACY OF THE WORLD WAR 
Exposure of German Intrigue 

A REVIEW of many circumstances during the interim between 
the first declaration of war in Europe in 1914 and April, 191 7, 
L shows why the United States was compelled by breaches of 
international law, by inhumanities practiced in conflict with The Hague 
Conventions, by the attack upon the Lusitania, by attempted restric- 
tions of United States communication and trade with foreign countries, 
by arrogant efl:'orts to pervert public sentiment in this country, by 
actual misrepresentations of facts and the circulation of unfounded 
charges, and by an effort to dictate the manner in which American 
ships should be marked before they might be guaranteed safe passage 
through the war zone, in fact a general abridgement of America's 
rights upon the high seas, to take up the issues of war against the Cen- 
tral Powers. All of which, viewed in the light of their cumulative 
effect, appear vastly more important than they did developing one 
incident at a time. 

In the fall of 1914, German influences in the United States, through 
German-American and pro-German organizations, began to influence 
the government and its citizens to at least deny support to other bellig- 
erent nations if they could not take a stand upon open issues that would 
be favorable to Germany. It was sought to bring the United States 
into that country's contention with Japan over Kiao-Chow and to incite 
sympathy through charges of the use of dum-dum bullets by the Allies. 
In response to the latter France and England made a counter charge 
of the same offense on the part of Germany. 

Germany used flags of neutral countries on her mine-laying ships; 
violated the neutrality of Belgium in spite of expressed agreement; 
everywhere the path of her warfare was marked by murder, rapine, 
brutality, and crime, destruction of historic monuments, masterpieces 
of architecture, and works of art. 

A campaign of submarine frightfulness began with the sinking. 



284 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

in February, 191 5, of the American ships, Evelyn, off the Borkum 
Islands, the Carib, which struck a mine, and the William P. Frye, 
loaded with wheat, which was shot by the Prinz Eitel Friedrich. On 
the 28th of April a German aeroplane dropped three bombs on the 
American steamer Gushing in the North Sea. Three days later the 
Gullflight, off the Scilly Islands, enroute from Port Arthur, Texas, to 
Rouen, France, was torpedoed by a German submarine but did not 
sink. The captain died of shock and ten of the crew who jumped over- 
board were drowned. The rest of the crew were taken off by a patrol 
boat, and the Gvillflight was towed into Crow Sound and beached. 

This attack was made on Saturday, the first of May, and on that day 
this notice appeared in the newspapers : 

Notice! 
Travelers intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded 
that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great 
Britain and her allies; that the zone of war includes the waters adja- 
cent to the British Isles; that, in accordance with formal notice given 
by the Imperial German Government, vessels flying the flag of Great 
Britain, or of any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters 
and that travelers sailing in the war zone on ships of Great Britain 
or her allies do so at their own risk. 

Imperial German Embassy 
Washington, D. C, April 22, 1915 

A dozen trusted agents of the United States Government had been 
placed in important German and Austrian offices when it became 
apparent that these countries would go to any length to spread their 
propaganda to organize and consolidate the German-Americans. 

Through these sources much conclusive and authoritative evidence 
was discovered as to the operations and intentions of Germany in the 
war. 

All efforts led to the conclusion that Germany was making persistent 
efforts to irritate the United States. 

The President had told the German Government that "if the com- 
manders of German vessels of war should act upon the presumption 
that the flag of the United States was not being used in good faith and 
should destroy on the high seas an American vessel, or the lives of 
American citizens, it would be difficult for the Government of the 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 285 

violation of neutral rights." In view of the openly pubHshed notice to 
United States to view the act in any other Hght than as an indefensible 
travelers and the President's notice to Germany, the tragic loss of the 
Lusitania was the most serious incident that had arisen between the 
United States and any belligerent. By many of our countrymen the 
attack was regarded as indicating that Germany had begun to show her 
resentment because of the shipment of arms to her enemies, and the 
widespread sympathy for the cause of the Allies. The Von Bernstorff 
note, the manner of its publication, and the warnings to Americans not 
to take passage on ships under the flags of Great Britain or any of her 
allies, all pointed, it was said, to such animosity on the part of Germany. 
What was she doing? Why should she spend so much money in trying 
to gain the support and sympathy of America, and then by official acts 
and utterances deliberately injure her cause ? Did Germany now think 
that threats would succeed where pleadings had failed? Was she 
seeking the enmity of the whole world as a good reason for peace ? 

The meaning of the warning notice from the German embassy, 
printed in the newspapers of May ist and repeated in many of them 
on May 8th, now became apparent. On May ist the Cunard mail 
steamship Lusitania sailed from New York, with 1,251 passengers and 
a crew of 667. On May 7th, when eight miles off Old Head of Kin- 
sale, on the south coast of Ireland, she was struck by two torpedoes 
discharged from a German submarine, and in a few minutes foundered 
and went down bow first. No warning was given. Many of the 
passengers were at luncheon ; but in the few minutes before she sank 
such as could found a refuge in ten life-boats. The wireless operator 
sent call after call for help, and tugs, steam trawlers, every available 
vessel was hurried from Queenstown. Of the 1,918 human beings on 
board 1,153 were drowned. Of the 188 Americans, 114 men, women, 
and children lost their lives. Among them were men well known in 
their walks of life. Not since the sinking of the Maine had the coun- 
try been so stirred by any single event. A cry of mingled horror and 
rage arose from every section. Beyond all doubt, it was said, the 
destruction of the Lusitania was- carefully and deliberately planned. 
The warning notice in the papers, it afterward appeared, had been 
preceded by anonymous letters and telephone messages to many of the 



286 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

passengers. American citizens traveling peacefully had been sent to 
their death by the deliberately planned act of Emperor William and 
his advisers. 

The German language press attempted to justify the deed by placing 
the blame on England, charging that this adversary was attempting to 
protect a cargo of contraband by carrying neutral citizens whose status 
as noncombantants it was expected that Germany would respect. One 
German newspaper in this country said: "We cannot allow Ameri- 
cans to be used as shields to get articles of war into the hands of the 
Allies." 

Agitation in this country followed varied lines of thought. Some 
wanted Congress to assemble and enact special legislation to fit such 
cases; some thought the German ambassador should be handed his 
passports, while many demanded that war should be declared. Yet it 
was almost two years after this before the final declaration was made. 

Germany soon dispatched a note to the United States Government 
expressing sympathy for the loss of lives on the Lusitania, but in the 
course of the diplomatic correspondence which followed she alleged 
that the Lusitania was armed with mounted guns, that she was carried 
on the British naval list as an auxiliary cruiser, and that part of her 
cargo was contraband of war. Li support of these allegations Ger- 
many cited affidavits of men who had professed to visit the vessel before 
sailing and which affidavits were secured through the efiforts of Ger- 
man agents. One of these spies later pleaded guilty to perjury and 
was sentenced to penal servitude for eighteen months. It was later 
shown that Germany did not have her alleged information in regard to 
the character of the cargo until three days after the disaster actually 
happened. She also made profession of the fact that the lives would 
not have been lost had it not been for the explosion of the ammunition 
aboard. In contravention of these charges was the statement of the 
collector of customs that no unlawful cargo was carried and that the 
ship was not armed, with the further circumstance that if such had been 
the case she would not have been given clearance papers from the port. 

The first note issued by the United States Department of State was 
given to the public on May 13th. In it expression was given to the 
idea that the Government of the United States "was loth to believe — 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 287 

it cannot now bring itself to believe — that these acts so contrary" to 
the rules, practices, and spirit of modern warfare could be sanctioned 
by the Imperial German Government, and felt in duty bound "to ad- 
dress the Imperial German Government concerning them with the 
utmost frankness." 

It assumed that the German Government "accept as of course the 
rule that the lives of noncombantants, whether they be of neutral citi- 
zenship or citizens of one of the nations at war, cannot lawfully be put 
in jeopardy by the capture or destruction of an unarmed merchantman, 
and recognize also, as all other nations do, the obligation to take the 
usual precaution of visit and search to ascertain whether a suspected 
merchantman is in fact of belligerent nationality or is in fact carrying 
contraband of war under a neutral flag." 

The Government of the United States expected "that the Imperial 
German Government will disavow the acts of which the Government 
of the United States complains, that they will make reparation, so far 
as reparation is possible, for injuries which are without measure, and 
that they will take immediate steps to prevent the recurrence of any- 
thing so obviously subversive of the principles of warfare." ■ Expres- 
sions of regret and offers of reparation for the destruction of neutral 
vessels sunk b)^ mistake might satisfy international obligations when 
no lives were lost. They could not justify a practice the eft'ect of which 
was "to subject neutral nations and neutral persons to new and innu- 
merable risks." 

The Imperial German Government will not expect the Government 
of the United States to omit any word or any act necessary to the per- 
formance of its sacred duty of maintaining the rights of the United 
States and its citizens and of safeguarding their free exercise and 
enjoyment. 

All indications pointed to the fact that the Lusitania had been delib- 
erately chosen for destruction. The foreign language press sympa- 
thized generally with the purposes of Germany. Germany made a gala 
occasion in celebration of the destruction of the ship. A medal was 
struck to commemorate the event. On one side was a rude represen- 
tation of the Lusitania sinking into the sea, and the words, "No con- 
traband. The liner Lusitania sunk by a German submarine May 5, 
1915." On the other was a long line of travelers waiting their turn 



288 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

to buy tickets at a Cunard Company's window, behind which stood 
Death as the ticket agent, and the words, "Business as usual." 

Then on May 25th the American steamship Nebraska, enroute from 
Liverpool to the Delaware breakwater, was attacked forty miles from 
Fastnet, Ireland, and a huge hole blown in her bow. No lives were 
lost and she was able to move into port. That the German Govern- 
ment, in the face of the excitement in America, should endanger the 
lives of an American captain and an American crew, was unbelievable, 
unless Germany intended to drive us into war. 

On the 31st of May the Department of State made public a response 
from Germany to America's first Lusitania note. The trend of the 
document was to evade the issues brought up by the United States and 
to fix the blame upon England as it had in the first note of sympathy, 
charging that if nevitral ships had suffered through submarine warfare 
because of mistakes in identification, it was the fault of Great Britain's 
abuse of flags, this latter particularly in regard to the Gushing and the 
Gullflight. 

Two days later Ambassador Von Bernstorflf interviewed President 
Wilson, during which he agreed to concede that Germany would stop 
her attacks on vessels known to carry citizens of the United States, if 
the American Government would suggest to our citizens that in future, 
when going to Europe, they should take passage on such ships only as 
carried no goods contral^and of war; that the German submarines 
would attack no merchant vessels save such as were known to be carry- 
ing contraband of war ; that this would be made easier if the President, 
by proclamation, would forbid the ships of belligerent nations to carry 
as passengers citizens of the United States; and that if the United 
States would bring about these conditions, German ships would not 
attack any merchantman, neutral or belligerent, carrying passengers, 
whether the ship did or did not have contraband goods on board, with- 
out first giving passengers and crew a chance to seek safety in boats 
and on rafts. 

When it became again necessarv for the United States Government 
to make known its stand on the open issue reports developed concerning 
a division in the cabinet. It proved that the difference was between 
the President and the secretary of state, W. J. Bryan, and the point of 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 289 

difference was as to how far the United States ought to go in making 
its demands upon Germany. As a result of this contention the secre- 
tary resigned. The effect of this in Germany was to carry the impres- 
sion that the people of the United States were not solidly behind the 
President in his firm demands. Robert Lansing, counselor of the 
Department of State, now became acting secretary, and the diplomatic 
negotiations proceeded in conformity with the policy already entered 
upon. 

The second Lusitania note was made public June nth. 

\^on Jagow had expressed his belief that the Government of the 
United States was not aware of the character and outfit of the Lusi- 
tania, not aware that she carried masked guns, trained gunners, and 
special ammunition, not aware that she had transported troops from 
Canada and a cargo not permitted under the laws of the United States 
to go in a vessel carrying passengers. 

Were these statements true, the Government of the United States 
(Mr. Lansing replied) would have been bound to take official cogni- 
zance in performing its recognized duty as a neutral power and in 
enforcing its national laws. It was its duty to see to it that the Lusi- 
tania was not armed for offensive action, that she was not serving as a 
transport, that she did not carry a cargo prohibited by the statutes of 
the United States, and that if, in fact, she was a naval auxihary of 
Great Britain she should not receive her clearance as a merchantman, 
and it performed that duty and enforced its statutes with scrupulous 
vigilance through its regularly constituted officials. The Government 
of the United States was able, therefore to assure the Imperial German 
Government that it had been misinformed. The message further 
stated that "the sinking of passenger ships involves principles of hu- 
manity which throw into the background any special circumstances of 
detail that may be thought to affect the cases. . . The Government 
of the United States is contending for something much greater than 
mere rights of property or privilege of commerce." 

The Government of the United States cannot admit that the procla- 
mation of a war zone from which neutral ships have been warned to 
keep away may be made to operate in any degree as an abbre^'iation of 
the rights either of American shipmasters or of American citizens 
bound on lawful errands as passengers on merchant ships of belligerent 



290 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

nationality. . . The Government of the United States, therefore, 
deems it reasonable to expect that the Imperial German Government 
will adopt the measures necessary to put these principles into practice 
in respect to the safeguarding of American lives and American ships, 
and asks for assurances that this will be done. 

Germany responded with a note under date of July 8th, which was 
made public in this country July loth. Her attitude was made appar- 
ent in the following line of argument : While the enemies of Germany 
were conducting a war without mercy for her destruction, she was 
fighting "in self-defense" for her "national existence and for the sake 
of peace of assured permanency." Forced to adopt a submarine war- 
fare to meet the intentions of its enemies, the German Government on 
February 4th, in its memorandum "recognized that the interests of 
neutrals might suffer from the submarine warfare." The case of the 
Lusitania showed "with horrible clearness to what jeopardizing of 
human lives the manner of conducting the war employed by our adver- 
saries leads." "All distinctions between merchant ships and vessels of 
war had been done away with" by the orders of British merchantmen 
to arm themselves, by instructions "to ram submarines and the promise 
of rewards therefor." Had the German commander of the submarine 
which sank the Lusitania caused the crew and passengers to take to the 
boats before firing the torpedo, his own vessel would surely have been 
destroyed. Experience justified the belief that the Lusitania would 
have floated long enough to enable all aboard of her to take to the boats, 
had it not been for the large quantity of highly explosive material she 
carried. 

In the spirit of old friendship the Imperial Government would do all 
it could "to prevent the jeopardizing of lives of American citizens." 
But to prevent "unforeseen dangers to American passenger steam- 
ships," they must be "made recognizable by special markings" and 
German submarine commanders must be "notified a reasonable time 
in advance." 

That American citizens might not suffer for "adequate facilities for 
travel across the Atlantic," the German Government would suggest 
that "a reasonable number of neutral steamers under the American 
flag" be used in passenger service. There would be "no compelling 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 291 

necessity" for American citizens to travel under an enemy's flag. The 
Imperial Government was "unable to admit that American citizens 
can protect an enemy ship through the mere fact of their presence on 
board." If an adequate number of neutral passenger steamers could 
not be acquired, the Imperial Government would not object to placing 
under the American flag four enemy passenger steamships, "for pas- 
senger traffic between North America and England." 

President Wilson, after having "maturely considered the situation," 
made reply on the 21st. 

"Illegal and inhuman acts, however justifiable they may be thought 
to be against an enemy who is believed to have acted in contravention 
of law and humanity, are manifestly indefensible when they deprive 
neutrals of their acknowledged rights, particularly when they violate 
the right to life itself." If a belligerent could not retaliate without 
injury to the lives and property of neutrals, "a due regard for the 
dignity of neutral powers should dictate that the practice be discon- 
tinued." The Government of the United States was ready to make 
reasonable allowances for the novel aspects of submarine war, but 
could not consent to abate any essential right of its people "because of 
a mere alteration of circumstances." 

Events of the last two months had shown that submarine operations 
in the so-called war zone could be conducted according to the "accepted 
practices of regulated warfare." 

The Government of the United States could not "accept the sugges- 
tion" that certain vessels should be designated which should be free 
"on the seas now illegally proscribed." Such an agreement "would, 
by implication, subject other vessels to illegal attack" and would be 
"an abandonment of the principles for which this government con- 
tends." The note closed with this warning: "Friendship itself 
prompts" the Government of the United States "to say to the Imperial 
German Government that repetitions by the commanders of German 
naval vessels of acts in contravention of those rights must be regarded 
by the Government of the United States, when they affect American 
citizens, as deliberately unfriendly." 

The German-American press was outspoken in condemnation of the 
note. By the American press the note was regarded as the final word 



292 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

to Germany on the sinking of the Lusitania and the submarine attacks 
on American merchantmen. The Koclnischc Zcitung (Germany) 
found the German and American standpoints as far apart at the end 
as at the beginning. An understanding was impossible. "Germany 
will neither disown the sinking of the Lusitania nor oiler indemnity 
for the lives of the reckless Americans who perished on the steamship. 
Germany will continue her submarine warfare in the same manner as in 
the past two months." 

It was not long after the war began, and after the sinking of the 
Lusitania made the carrying the carrying of munitions of war an 
issue, that there began to be influences brought to bear upon Congress 
and upon the President to place an embargo upon any traffic in arms 
or ammunition. The agitation came mainly from German-Americans, 
Germans, and pacifists. The efifect on disordered minds of the agita- 
tion for an embargo on the exportation of munitions was to incite some 
men to place bombs in ships leaving the United States, and though 
several bombs were discovered none of them did any serious damage. 

The Government of the United States took the stand that this foreign 
trade in rifles and ammunition did not constitute a breach of neutrality 
laws, and when Germany pleaded for an embargo our government held 
that any change in the laws after a situation arose that would alter the 
circumstances toward either belligerent would be in itself a violation of 
a neutrality status. 

A host of incidents indicated German activities in the United States 
to work to the advantage of the Central Empires. They need not be 
recited in detail here, but a resume given in order to indicate the lines 
of designing activity that were employed. 

One of the first manifestations of this intrigue was the effort to buy 
passports in order to provide passage for German reservists who 
wanted to return to their native land. This was soon nipped in the 
bud. The espionage laws were not stringent at that time and the 
punishment meted out to the offenders was not as severe as it would 
have been later. The point of chief interest and importance in this 
matter is that the evidence led to the office of Captain von Papen, mili- 
tary attache to the German Embassy at Washington, who was supply- 
ing the money and the brains for the whole scheme. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 293 

Werner Horn, a lieutenant in the German army who had failed in 
his effort to return home, attempted on the night of February 3, 191 5, 
to blow up the international bridge at Vanceboro, Maine. Horn was 
indicted before a United States commissioner on the charge of violating 
the law regulating the transportation of explosives. 

On the 1st of March the Hamburg- American line and four indi- 
viduals were indicted, charged with having conspired to defraud the 
United States by false statements, false clearances of vessels from our 
ports, and false manifests of cargoes made in order that the vessels 
might go, not to the places for which they were cleared, but to deliver 
coal and supplies to German warships at sea. By the indictment they 
were charged with conspiracy "to defraud the United States in and by 
causing collectors of customs, by means of false statements, to make, 
record, and transmit untrue and inaccurate records." 

The fact was later brought to light that as early as the autumn of 
1913 the Hamburg-American line had contracted in the event of a war 
to send coal and supplies to German warships in the Atlantic Ocean. 
When complaint and prosecution brought out the facts it was admitted 
that twelve vessels were consigned to this duty, but only one, the Ber- 
wind, accomplished her mission. The others either returned to port 
to escape capture or never left port because they were held under 
suspicion, or failed in their mission because the war vessels they were 
to serve had been sunk by the British. Four were found guilty. In 
sending coal, provisions, and supplies to German ships on the high seas, 
at a time when the United States and Germany were not at war with 
each other, the defendants had done no wrong, the court held. Neith- 
er the law of nations nor any act- of Congress forbade such an under- 
taking. But they had defrauded the United States by obtaining from 
its officers clearances for their vessels to which they were not entitled. 

One of the most striking instances of intrigue occurred when, sus- 
tained by German money and cooperation, Victoriana Huerta, one time 
Provisional President of Mexico, came to the United States and made 
a show of establishing his home here ; then organized an expedition into 
Mexico with a view to stirring up an insurrection in that country that 
would distract the United States from its attention to European prob- 
lems. Huerta started upon his journey from Long Island ostensibly to 



294 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

visit the Panama Exposition, but when he turned his journey south- 
ward he was shadowed, and was arrested at El Paso. He died early in 
July, and the incident was closed. 

One of the amazing and impudent features of all this intrigue was 
that it all led back to the office of Von Bernstorfif, German ambassador 
to this country, who was presumed to represent state relationships 
between the two countries and not to come here as a plotter against the 
nation which received him in a friendly way. 

Evidence accumulated that the German spy system was established 
in America even before the war began. Germany tried in various 
ways to get information about our wireless system service, to learn 
about details of the construction of American ships, to secure control of 
private wireless systems ; and it was shown that a civilian employed in 
the electrical service of our navy was in the pay of Germany. 

Jas. F. Archibald, an American newspaper correspondent, enroute 
to Germany on the Rotterdam, was found to be carrying documents 
from Dr. Dumba, the Austro-Hungarian minister to this country, and 
Count von Bernstorfif to German and Austro-Hungarian authorities 
on many vital questions of the relationships between the United States 
and the Central Empires. Particularly ofifensive was a suggestion for 
inciting strikes in the Bethlehem steel and munition works through 
foreign sources. 

Thereupon the United States made a demand that Dumba be recalled, 
and though he entered a general denial of any connection with such 
plots his government did recall him from service in this country. Later 
Baron von Nuber, of the New York consulate, proved as ofifensive as 
had Dumba. 

It was time that the government acted. Actual warfare had been 
conducted by German and Austrian officials against the United States. 
Guns had not been trained on our citizens, armies had not been landed 
on our shore, but the torch had been set to munition plants, bombs had 
been prepared to sink ships at sea, plots had been hatched to prevent 
manufactured goods reaching their destination, passports for German 
and Austrian spies had been forged, and strikes fomented. 

On December loth, the German ambassador notified the secretary of 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 295 

state of the recall of Captain Boy-Ed and Captain von Papen because 
of the United States' objection to their activities. 

Meanwhile agents of Germany had been busy on the Pacific Coast. 
Efforts were made to interfere with the United States' trade with the 
Allies, the mails were being used to incite arson, murder, and assassina- 
tion, and agents of the German Government were acting in collusion 
with enemies who would destroy property in Canada. In February, 
1916, thirty-two conspirators were indicted by a federal grand jury. 
It was shown that Labor's National Peace Council was an organization 
effected for the purpose of making big peace demonstrations and incit- 
ing strikes. 

President Wilson, realizing the need of closer restrictions in the 
espionage laws, in his message to Congress on December 7, 1916, 
pleaded for laws to take care of '"some men among us, and many resi- 
dents abroad who, though born and bred in the United States and call- 
ing themselves American, have so forgotten themselves and their honor 
as citizens as to put their passionate sympathy with one or the other 
side in the great European conflict above their regard for the peace and 
dignity of the United States. They also preach and practice disloy- 
alty." 

Late in October, 191 5, Germany sent a note to the United States 
Government in regard to the attack on the Orduna, saying it "was not 
in accordance with the existing instructions," and that "the repetition 
of which appears to be out of the question, in view of the more explicit 
instructions issued in the meantime." Though, by this admission, the 
surrender of Germany seemed to be complete, the triumph of American 
diplomacy was not to endure. Because of the capture and sinking of 
large numbers of Germany's submarines by England the Kaiser's 
government found it advisable to adopt for the time being a policy of 
restraint of submarine frightfulness, until Germany's submarine fleet 
could be reenforced. 

However, Austria did not feel involved by any promises not to sink 
without warning which Germany might have made, and she soon 
equalled her ally in frightfulness. 

On November 7, 1915, the ItaHan liner Ancona, with 400 passengers 



296 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

and a crew of 170, enroute from Messina to New York, was torpedoed 
off Cape Carbona by a submarine which, when iirst seen, was flying 
the German flag, but immediately hauled it down and replaced it with 
the Austrian colors. The Ancona attempted to escape but was fired 
upon and hit, whereupon the captain ordered the boats lowered and 
just as the eighth touched the water the Ancona pitched forward and 
sank bows first, carrying down with her over two hundred human 
beings, many of whom were killed by gunfire after the torpedo struck. 
Of twelve Americans aboard nine lost their lives. 

The Austrian government took the position that the attack was the 
fault of the crew who tried to escape. Secretary Lansing demanded 
that Austria denounce the sinking of the Ancona as an illegal and 
indefensible act; that the commander of the submarine be punished; 
and that an indemnity be paid for the citizens of the United States who 
were killed or injured. Not one of these demands was answered; the 
Austrian response was an impudent assumption "that as a matter of 
course" the Austrian Government "reserves to itself full freedom of 
maintaining its own legal views in the discussion of the case of the An- 
cona." The United States answered on December 19th with Secretary 
Lansing's note which reminded the contender that the Austrian admi- 
ralty's first published note on the occurrence admitted the offense, and 
renewed the demands for acknowledgment and reparation. On the 
29th Austria surrendered to the American viewpoint and promised 
indemnity in a note which was made public on New Year's day, 1916. 

With this prospect of a settlement of the submarine issue freshly in 
mind, it was learned soon that on the second day of January the Persia 
was sunk in the Mediterranean. Of 558 passengers and crew, only 
1 58 survived. Among the drowned was the newly appointed American 
consul on his way to Aden, Arabia. Immediately the Austrian dip- 
lomat at Washington asked that judgment be withheld until the facts 
could be known. Survivors had seen neither submarine nor torpedo, 
and Germany and Austria both denied that their submarines had in- 
flicted the damage. 

Meanwhile, negotiations went forward with regard to the Lusitania. 
Germany's representations, unsatisfactory to President Wilson, were 
revised until she granted all claims except that the sinking was illegal. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 297 

On the 24th of March a German submarine torpedoed in the EngHsh 
Channel the French passenger steamer Sussex on which were twenty- 
five American citizens. The ship carried no ammunition, was never 
used as a transport. By this attack eighty persons were killed or 
wounded. 

Soon thereafter the Englishman, the Manchester Engineer, the Ber- 
windvale, and the Eagle Point were torpedoed. 

President Wilson, in a note under date of April i8th, reviewed the 
many aggravations that had caused protest to be made, and said that 
the "roll of Americans who have lost their lives upon ships thus 
attacked and destroyed has grown month by month until the ominous 
toll has mounted into the hundreds." The Government of the United 
States had "been willing to wait until the facts became unmistakable 
and were susceptible of only one interpretation. . . It now owes it 
to a just regard for its own rights to say to the Imperial Government 
that that time has come. Unless the Imperial Government should now 
immediately declare and efifect an abandonment of its present methods 
of submarine warfare against passenger and freight-carrying vessels, 
the Government of the United States can have no other choice but to 
sever diplomatic relationships with the German Empire altogether." 

Germany's reply, dated May 4, 1916, asserted that "the German 
Government attaches no less importance to the sacred principles of 
humanit}^ than the Government of the LTnited States." The note pro- 
ceeded farther to charge that it was not Germany but the British Gov- 
ernment that "has extended this terrible war to the lives and property 
of noncombatants. . . As matters stand, the German Government 
cannot but reiterate its regret that the sentiments of humanity which 
the Government of the United States extends with such fervor to the 
unhappy victims of submarine warfare are not extended with the same 
warmth of feeling to the many millions of women and children who, 
according to the avowed intentions of the British Government, shall 
be starved and who, by their sufferings, shall force the victorious armies 
of the Central Powers into ignominous capitulation. The German 
Government, in agreement with the German people, fails to understand 
this discrimination. . . The German people know that the Govern- 
ment of the United States has the power to confine this war to the 



298 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

armed forces of the belligerent countries in the interest of humanity 
and the maintenance of international law," by insisting "against Great 
Britain on its incontestible rights to the freedom of the seas. But, as 
matters stand, the German people is under the impression that the 
Government of the United States, while demanding that Germany, 
struggling for her existence, shall restrain the use of an effective wea- 
pon, and while making the compliance with these demands a condition 
for the maintenance of relations with Germany, confines itself to pro- 
tests against the illegal methods adopted by Germany's enemies. 
Moreover, the German people know to what a considerable extent its 
enemies are supplied with all kinds of war material from the United 
States." 

The impression created in this country was that the tone of the note 
was intended for Berlin; the substance for Washington. The special 
concession thus wrung from Germany after months of constant protest 
and negotiation was small, indeed. Enemy freight ships found in the 
war zone were not to be stopped, visited, searched, and destroyed 
according to the principles of international law; other merchant ships, 
if they did not resist or attempt to escape, were to have the benefit of 
the principles of visit, search, and destruction as prescribed by inter- 
national law. Yet it was of real importance to force Germany to 
pledge herself to conduct her submarine warfare "in accordance with 
the general principles of visit and search and destruction of merchant 
vessels," for it was an admission that she had not hitherto done so.' 
But was this pledge worth anything with the condition attached ? The 
President and his cabinet thought not, and on May 8, 1916, Secretary 
Lansing replied with a note, made public on May 9th, in which "the 
Imperial Government's declaration of its abandonment of the policy 
which has so seriously menaced the good relations between the two 
countries," was accepted and the condition expressly rejected. 

In order to avoid any possible misunderstanding, the Government of 
the United States notifies the Imperial Government that it cannot for a 
moment entertain, much less discuss, a suggestion that respect by 
German naval authorities for the rights of citizens of the United States 
upon the high seas should in any way or in the slightest degree be made 
contingent upon the conduct of any other Government affecting the 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 299 

rights of neutrals and noncombatants. Responsibility in such matters 
is single, not joint ; absolute, not relative. 

In a later note Germany acknowledged responsibility for the damage 
to the Sussex, and culpability on the part of the commander of the 
submarine in acting too hastily. 

Congressmen Difeer on Policy 

When, on the loth of February, 1916, Ambassador von Bernstorff 
announced that Germany and Austro-Hungary would instruct their 
submarine commanders to treat armed merchantment as auxiliary 
cruisers, a storm of agitation was raised in this country as to what 
course the United States ought to take to protect its citizens. 

The status thus brought about was argued by personal and public 
sources. Differences existed in Congress which, in the light of later 
developments, made some of the members of that distinguished body 
seem little less firm in insistence upon the rights of Americans than 
were open opponents. A resolution introduced in the House of Repre- 
sentatives by Congressman McLemore of Texas' called upon the Presi- 
dent to issue a proclamation to warn American citizens to refrain from 
traveling on ships of belligei-ents, but the issue was decided when a 
resolution was introduced by Gore of Oklahoma in the Senate. His 
resolution declared that the sinking by a German submarine of a mer- 
chantman on which American citizens lost their lives would constitute 
cause of war between Germany and the United States. This resolu- 
tion was laid upon the table by the Senate, and by so doing the Senate 
established the very principle for which the President had been con- 
tending. 

Ex-Secretary of State Bryan was against the President on this point, 
and took part in several peace meetings where opinions were expressed 
which fell short of the President's demands as to the rights of Ameri- 
can citizens to travel unrestrained upon the high seas. 

Defers Crisis by Pledges • 
Still Germany continued to make pledges and pursue diplomatic 
negotiations which, in the light of later developments, appeared evasive 
and to defer this crisis as far into the future as possible. 



300 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

On May i8, 191 6, Von Bernstorff announced that the German Gov- 
ernment was opposed to the plots and propaganda leading to Violations 
of our laws and our neutrality. Developments accumulated to show 
that German governmental representatives in this country were con- 
spiring through intrigue to pursue schemes of any character that might 
work in favor of Germany. 

When Captain von Papen, recalled from service here and enroute 
to his native land, was arrested at Falmouth, England, papers found 
among his effects showed payments made to parties well known in this 
country as offenders against our laws and neutrality. Among his 
personal correspondence were notes of sympathy from German consuls 
and his friends in this country in which they extended sympathy and 
gave expression to a feeling of ultimate conflict and faith in German 
power to dominate. 

His papers gave corroborative evidence that Von der Goltz, travel- 
ing as Bridgeman Taylor, who had been relieved from service with a 
brigade of the Mexican army, had come to the United States and 
tried to organize a force of German reservists to go to Canada, there 
to create a fear of giving aid to England; that Von Goltz had been 
asked by Von Papen to see two Irishmen about a scheme to blow up 
locks of canals between the Great Lakes, and main railway junctions 
and grain elevators in Canada. 

As a result of this testimony Von Papen and four others were in- 
dicted for a conspiracy to blow up the Welland Canal, but Papen could 
not be arrested because he was attached to the German embassy. The 
following day, at 60 Wall Street, New York, Wolf von Igel was ar- 
rested on suspicion of unneutral intrigue. Conflict was inspired over 
the right to take his papers by the German claim that he was attached 
to the German embassy. It was shown that the embassy was not 
paying his rent, so the quarters could not be considered as Germany 
property; however, part of the papers were eventually returned to him. 
Enough was taken to justify the indictment of nine men for placing 
explosives upon ships with the idea of destroying the vessels. All of 
them were sent to the Atlanta federal penitentiary for two and a half 
years. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 301 

Karl A. Luederitz, German consul at Baltimore, was indicted for 
securing a false passport for Von Goltz, alias Taylor. 

On May 8th Von Igel and two others were indicted for conspiring to 
falsify ships' manifests in order to g-et cargoes of oil into Germany. 

Protests from the Allies 

So much has been said concerning diplomatic negotiations between 
Germany and the United States that it will be interesting to recall the 
occasion for similar correspondence between England and the United 
States. Late in December, 1.91 5, reports reached the Department of 
State that British customs authorities were interfering with the mails. 
From the Danish steamer Oscar II 734 bags of parcel mail were re- 
moved while on their way from the LTnited States to Norway, Sweden, 
and Denmark; from the Swedish steamer Stockholm fifty-eight bags 
while on their way from New York to Gothenburg; from the Danish 
steamer United States the customs authorities at Kirkwall took 5,000 
packages of merchandise, the property of American citizens ; from the 
Frederick VIII, manifested for Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, 597 
bags of parcel mail, and from the Dutch steamship New Amsterdam 
the entire mail, American diplomatic and consular pouches included. 
Against all this Mr. Page was instructed on January 4, 191 6, to enter 
"a formal and vigorous protest." The department was "inclined to 
regard parcel post articles as subject to the same treatment as articles 
sent by express or freight in regard to belligerent search, seizure, and 
condemnation." But it could not admit the right of Great Britain to 
seize neutral ships on their way from neutral European ports to ports 
in the United States, bring them in, and while in port remove and 
censor the mails they carried. 

France and Great Britain rephed February 15, 1916, in a joint mem- 
orandum. In no wise, they held, do "parcels" constitute "letters" or 
"correspondence" or "dispatches," and are clearly not exempt in any 
way from supervision, visitation, and seizure any more than belligerent 
cargoes on the high seas. As regards letters, wrappers, envelopes en- 
trusted to the postal service and generally contained in the mail bags 
the Allied Government "bring the following consideration to the notice 



302 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

of the Neutral Governments." Between December 31, 1914, and De- 
cember 31, 191 5, German or Austro-Hungarian naval authorities sunk 
without warning mailships with mail bags on board coming from or 
going to neutral countries without a word of protest from any neutral 
government. Examination of the mails of steamers that called at 
ports in the Allied countries revealed the fact that in the wrappers, 
envelopes, and mail were contraband articles much sought after by the 
enemy. On the Turbania were 1475^ pounds of india rubber and 
seven parcels of wool, and on the Medan seven parcels of crude rub- 
ber, worth in Germany on December 15, 1915, twenty-five marks per 
kilog. Enemy traffic, driven from the sea, "thus resorted to hide in 
mail matter, in order to get through, all kinds of merchandise, contra- 
band of war included, apparently by imposing on the postoffice depart- 
ment of the neutral states." Hence the Allied Governments had 
decided that merchandise shipped in post parcels "shall not be treated 
otherwise than merchandise shipped in any other way;" that the inviol- 
ability of postal correspondence does not afifect the right of the Allied 
Governments to visit and, if needs be, "arrest and seize merchandise 
hidden in wrappers, envelopes or letters contained in mail bags;" and 
that in future they will refrain from seizing on the high seas genuine 
correspondence, letters, or dispatches and will forward them as quickly 
as possible after "the sincerity of their character has been ascertained." 
A pamphlet. The Mails as a German War Weapon, published in 
London some months later, gives some account of what had been found 
in the mails. From the first few mails that were examined over 3,000 
packets of raw rubber were seized on their way to Germany, while the 
German exports intercepted comprised jewelry, drugs, machine needles, 
violin strings, in short almost every article Germany could afiford to 
export. When it became known that merchandise sent by letter mail 
was not to pass unmolested, resort was had to every sort of subterfuge. 
Thus, the wrapping of a package of photographs when examined was 
found to contain a bar of pure nickel in each fluting of the corrugated 
paper wrapper. Packages described as containing photographs in 
reality contained packed sheets of dental rubber. In our country par- 
cel post packages for Germany during two weeks in April, 191 5, 
increased from 115 to 1,200 per day. All sorts of food except meat 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 303 

were in them. Department stores made special provisions for such 
shipments and furnished airtight containers. 

Merchandise by Submarine 

This country was amazed when, on July 8th, an immense submarine, 
the Deutschland, arrived in port at Baltimore, with a cargo of dyes and 
similar merchandise. Though some previous predictions had been 
made through German sources that such a visit was to be made, it had 
hardly been believed possible. England and France called to the atten- 
tion of the Government of the United States the presence of this 
strange, and to them questionable craft in our port, with the request 
that her character be determined. The collector of the port reported 
that she had no guns, was manned by a merchant crew, carried mer- 
chandise cargo and was not a warship. The Deutschland made a 
second trip, putting in November ist at New London. Reports that 
others would start a regular service never materialized. The Allies 
continued to insist that the submarine should be treated as a vessel of 
war. 

Laws passed in contemplation of war circumstances provided clauses 
deaHng with hindrances to mail service. 

On July 18, 19 16, England made public a "blacklist" of eighty-three 
firms and individuals of enemy nationality or associations, resident in 
our country, and forbade British subjects to trade with them under 
the same penalties as if trading with the enemy. This prohibition it 
was explained applied to German firms with head offices in Germany; 
to German firms incorporated in the United States and technically 
American; and those that made use of secret code or cloak to cover 
the fact that they were using the cables in the interest of the enemy. 
Mr. Lansing at once instructed Mr. Page to protest. The "blacklist," 
he said, had been received with "the most painful surprise" by the 
people and Government of the United States. It seems to be an 
arbitrary interference with neutral trade against which it was the 
duty of the Government "to protect in most decided terms." Negotia- 
tions over this subject continued until we entered the war. 

There suddenly appeared ofif the coast of Newport, R. I., the U-53, a 
German submarine, which stayed a few hours and put to sea, to a point 



304 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

sixty miles south of Nantucket lightship. There the American steam- 
er Kansan was stopped, then permitted to proceed. The Strathdene 
was met, torpedoed, and sunk. One British ship and two neutral 
ships were stopped and sunk. American boats went out in response 
to radio calls for help. 

It was made apparent from German sources that the design was to 
ascertain what course the United States would take in regard to pro- 
tecting stranded crews and passengers, under the view that to save 
them would be to aid Germany. 

The British steamer Marina was torpedoed without warning off the 
southwest coast of Ireland. Six of fifty-two Americans aboard were 
drowned. On October 26th the British steamer Rowanmore, with 
Americans aboard, was torpedoed. A few days later the Arabia, with 
one American aboard, was sunk in the Mediterranean. Off the Span- 
ish coast the American steamer Columbian was required to follow a 
submarine which captured her. The submarine captain was advised 
of her American ownership, but he took the crew off and sunk her, the 
crew going aboard the Bolo, a prize ship in charge. The Swedish 
steamer Varing was captured; all men held as prisoners were trans- 
ferred to the Varing and the Bolo was sunk; the Norwegian steamer 
Fordalen was captured and sunk. Later the American steamer Che- 
mung was torpedoed in the Mediterranean. On December 4th, the 
Italian steamer Palermo, enroute from New York to Geneva with 
horses and mules, was torpedoed near the coast of Spain with twenty- 
five Americans aboard. When called upon for an explanation, Ger- 
many alleged that the Marina was a transport and that she was armed. 
England admitted that she carried horses on her east-bound trip, but 
was not in the government service on the trip west. Her claim with 
regard to the Columbian was that the ship was torpedoed because of 
assistance given to the enemy by wireless. 

Belgian Men in Slavery 

In October of 1916 a new reign of terror began in Belgium. Hav- 
ing destroyed that country's industry by carrying off her machinery, 
seizing raw materials, and depriving thousands of nien of the means 
of earning a living, German authorities in the military area in Flai> 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 305 

ders seized idle workmen to send them to Germany. On October 3d she 
posted decrees in every town and village in the area subject to military 
orders calling on the men to prepare to leave. When the municipal 
authorities refused to give the lists of men the towns were fined. 
Tournai resolved against compliance ; a fine of 200,000 marks- was 
levied. Five thousand men between the ages of seventeen and thirty 
were taken from Ghent and 15,000 were taken from the country. 
Refugees told how men of the prescribed ages were loaded into cars 
while wives, children, and relatives were not permitted to approach 
within three hundred yards of the station. At Mons 6,200 men were 
marched before bayonets. The women of Belgium appealed to Minis- 
ter Brand Whitlock, who represented this country. Belgium, through 
its minister at Washington, protested to Secretary Lansing. When 
the protest was made German authorities assumed that this course was 
necessary to make men work who were not voluntarily inclined to 
work. They alleged that the British policy cut them off from raw 
materials so that they had nothing with which to work. 

When the war opened Germany established a bureau for the acquisi- 
tion of raw materials by purchase in neutral countries and by seizure 
in countries to be conquered. In obedience to sixty-six decrees at 
different interims Belgium was stripped bare of machines and machine 
tools, of lathes, wool and linen, cotton, jute, and thread, rubber, min- 
eral, and chemical products, locomotives and automobiles, horses, cattle, 
hides, fats, and oils, of almost everything the people possessed. Why 
this was done was made clear in a speech by Herr Beumer in the 
Prussian Diet about the time of the great "slave raids." 

"Anybody," said he, "who knows the present state of things in 
Belgian industry will agree with me that it must take at least some 
years — assuming that Belgium is independent at all — before Belgium 
can ever think of competing with us in the world market. And any- 
body who has traveled as I have done, through the occupied districts 
of France, will agree with me that so much damage has been done to 
industrial property that no one need be a prophet in order to say it will 
take more than ten years before we need think of France as a competi- 
tor or of the reestablishment of French industry." 

Protests produced no efifect whatever. 



3o6 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Suggestions of Peace 

Late in the year of 1916 negotiations for peace were suggested from 
two different sources. 

On December 12th the Emperor of Germany, speaking through the 
chancellor, addressed the Reichstag, announcing that he had made an 
oft'er of peace to the Allies. His address followed a boastful vein, 
assumed that the advantage of the situation as it stood was all in favor 
of the Central Powers, and professed "unconquerable strength" on the 
part of Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, and Turkey. He further pro- 
fessed that Germany's aims were not to "shatter or annihilate our 
enemies." 

In opposition to this suggestion the Allies acknowledged that grant- 
ing peace at that time would be proclaiming Germany as victorious; 
and responded that the only ground on which peace could be granted 
was that Germany accede to restitution, reparation, and guarantees 
against repetition of their offenses against humanity and international 
law. 

On December i8th President Wilson wrote a peace note to the war- 
ring nations. He did not suggest means of arriving at peace, but 
assumed that all parties were ready to form, not rival leagues, but a 
league of nations to preserve the peace of the world. He was not 
proposing peace, nor offering mediation, but suggesting that soundings 
be taken that neutral and warring nations might know "how near the 
haven of peace may be." 

Secretary of State Lansing made an explanation of the President's 
note by saying that it was "not our material interests we had in mind 
when the note was sent, but more and more our own rights are becom- 
ing involved by the belligerents on both sides, so that the situation is 
becoming increasingly critical." 

According to the President's message on the subject, "the concrete 
object for which it is being waged had never been definitely stated." 

The response of the Entente to Germany's note, delivered January 
4, 1917, assumed that the note suggesting that negotiations for peace 
be opened and not in itself an oft'er of peace. It was designated as 
"less an offer of peace than a war maneuver." The Allies further 
characterized it as "empty and insincere." 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 307 

The Kaiser's response to this manner of meeting him was an order 
to his army: "Our enemies did not want the understanding offered 
by me. With God's help our armies will enforce it." 

Conflicting expressions from American citizens, press, and public 
men met the President's effort to draw forth a statement from the 
belligerents that would afford a basis for peace. The note was both 
denounced and supported. 

A response to the President's note was given out December 26, 1916, 
from both Germany and Austria-Hungary. They expressed the belief 
that a direct exchange of views would be helpful; and suggested a 
meeting of representatives of the belligerent powers on neutral ground. 

Neutral powers of Europe hoped that the initiative taken by the 
President would bear fruit. English publicists held that the issues 
could not be put in diplomatic language, could not be bargained for. 
The German press said that Germany's conditions could be made 
known through President Wilson. 

The Allies did not believe it possible "at the present time" to obtain 
such a peace as would assure reparations, restitution, and such guar- 
antees as were necessary to estabhsh the future of European nations 
on a solid basis. They deplored the losses, but denied responsibility 
for the war, and in detail recited the wrongs of the Central Empires 
against neighboring nations. 

No fact was better established than "the willful aggression of Ger- 
many and Austria-Hungary to insure their hegemony over Europe 
and their economic domination over the world. Germanv proved by 
her declaration of war, by the immediate invasion of Belgium and 
Luxemburg, and by her manner of conducting the war, her systematic 
contempt for all principles of humanity and all respect for small states." 

But the President wished that the belligerent powers state what they 
sought by continuing the war. They sought the "restitution of Bel- 
gium, of Serbia, of Montenegro, and the indemnities due them; the 
evacuation of the invaded territories of France, Russia, and Rou- 
mania, with just reparation ;" the "reorganization of Europe guaran- 
teed by a stable regime, and founded as much on respect of nationalities 
and full security and liberty of economic development" as upon "terri- 
torial conventions and international conventions and international 



3o8 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

agreements." They demanded the restoration of provinces wrested 
from the AUies in the past; the Hberation of Italians, Slavs, Rouma- 
nians, Tcheco Slovaks from foreign domination ; "the enfranchisement 
of peoples subject to the bloody tyranny of the Turks," and the expul- 
sion from Europe of the Ottoman Empire. 

With the note from the Entente Powers came one from Belgium. 
In it the officials of the invaded kingdom held that if ever there was a 
country that had a right to say it had taken up arms to defend its life 
that country was Belgium. Forced to fight or submit to shame, she 
passionately desired that an end be put to the unprecedented suffering 
of her people ; but she could accept no peace which did not assure her 
reparation, security, and guarantees for the future. 

In response to the Allies' answer to the German peace proposals, 
Germany came forward with a note directed to neutral governments. 
She reviewed England's holding of colonies as illustrating that she was 
not consistent in asking for the national life of small nations, asserted 
that she was insincere and that the means of war used against Ger- 
many indicated a desire to restrict the strength and union of the Cen- 
tral Powers. 

Balfour, British minister for foreign affairs, wrote that no peace 
could long endure if the foundations were defective. He reviewed 
territorial conditions, largely with reference to Turkey and Germany's 
then domination, and said that peace under those circumstances would 
aft'ord less occasion for future wars, but no guarantee against war, and 
the hope of the President for the future of the world would be as far 
as ever from realization. So long as Germany remained the Germany 
which without the shadow of justification overran and barbarously ill- 
used a country she was bound by treaty to protect, no state could be 
secure if its rights had no better protection than a treaty. No peace 
could last unless the existing causes of international unrest were re- 
moved or weakened; unless the aggressive aims and unscrupulous 
methods of the Central Powers should fall into disrepute among their 
own people; unless behind international law, behind all treaties for 
preventing hostilities some form of international sanction should be 
devised which would make the hardiest aggressor pause. 

The very day this note was delivered at Washington, the British 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 309 

admiralty announced that a German raider was in the Atlantic, that it 
had sunk eight British and two French merchantmen, and had cap- 
tured two, that "the Japanese Hudson Maru" had reached Pernambuco 
with 237 officers and men from the lost ships, and that the others, some 
450 in number, had ben placed on the captured steamer Yarrowdale. 

The captain of the Dramatist, one of the ships destroyed by the 
raider, on reaching Pernambuco on the Hudson Maru, stated that the 
1 8th of December he sighted a steamer going in the same direction as 
his ; that early in the afternoon she drew alongside, broke out the Ger- 
man naval ensign, dropped her sides under the forecastle bulwarks, 
revealing two guns trained on the Dramatist, and called on him to 
surrender. The Dramatist was then boarded and, after her crew was 
transferred to the raider, was torpedoed. Later, part of the crew was 
sent to the Hudson Maru and orders given to follow the raider until 
January 12th and then proceed to Pernambuco. Reports from Buenos 
Aires added eleven ships, British, French, and Danish, to the list given 
out by the admiralty. The Yarrowdale, with 469 prisoners, of whom 
seventy-two were Americans, reached a German port in safety. 

To the astonishment of the country the President now appeared, 
unexpectedly, before the Senate, and delivered an address which 
amazed Europe. He requested of the belligerents more definite in- 
formation than had yet been made of the terms on which it would be 
possible to make peace. The President demanded "peace without vic- 
tory," that every people be permitted affiliation with governments of 
common faith and purposes; that the "paths of the sea must alike in 
law and in fact be free." He was "proposing government by the con- 
sent of the governed; that freedom of the seas which in international 
conference after conference representatives of the United States have 
urged with the eloquence of those who are the convinced disciples of 
liberty; and that moderation of armaments which make of armies and 
navies a power for order merely, not an instrument of aggression or 
selfish violence." 

This message did not find a responsive spirit in England; victory 
was essential for safety. Germany would not agree to peace without 
victory. Everywhere the message was regarded as ideal. The Cana- 
dian Senate adopted a resolution that "only representatives of nations 



310 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

which have taken part or been engaged in the present war should par- 
ticipate in the negotiations for peace." 

And now all this discussion of peace, and the terms of peace, and 
ways to enforce peace, came to a sudden end when, on January 31, 
1917, the German ambassador presented a note announcing the imme- 
diate resumption of ruthless submarine warfare. Germany indicated 
a desire that the peace to be signed with Belgium should provide such 
conditions as would prevent her ever again being used for hostile pur- 
poses against Germany. She alleged that the real aims of her enemies 
were the dismemberment of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and 
Bulgaria, and expressed the conviction that the Entente Powers "de- 
clared only such a peace to be possible as shall be dictated by the En- 
tente Powers." 

A new situation has thus been created which forces Germany to new 
decisions. . . Under these circumstances Germany will meet the 
illegal measures of her enemies by forcibly preventing, after February 
I, 191 7, in a zone around Great Britain, France, Italy, and the eastern 
Mediterranean, all navigation, that of neutrals included, from and to 
England, from and to France, etc. All ships met within that zone will 
be sunk. 

Another memorandum defined the boundaries of barred zones, and 
the open routes through them, and stated rules for the guidance of 
American shipping which limited sailings to one steamship a week in 
and out of Falmouth, England, only; and further specified that the 
ships must be painted in a certain way to distinguish them from other 
ships. The limitations specified a route via the Scilly Islands, and a 
point fifty degrees north and twenty degrees west. The situation thus 
created is pointedly summed up by John Bach McMaster in his history, 
The United States in the World War: 

Our country had now received its orders. Had the German armies 
been in possession of every foot of our soil from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific these orders could not have been more tyrannical. No "Avis," 
no "Proclamation," no "Order" signed by Von Bissing, or Von der 
Goltz, or Von Buelow and pasted on the walls of Brussels, or Liege, 
was written more in the spirit of the conqueror. Once each week one 
passenger steamship, striped like a barber's pole, and flying at each 
masthead a flag resembling the kitchen tablecloths of bygone days, 
might leave one port of the United States, and making its way along a 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 311 

prescribed course, enter a specified port in England on a Sabbath day, 
or be sunk without warning. The gravity of the situation alone pre- 
vented such a spectacle from being laughable. 

The threat of the President in his note on the Sussex left no choice 
as to the stand of the United States. When the note was made public 
stocks fell, the rate of marine insurance rose, sailings of neutral vessels 
were cancelled or suspended, the port of New York was temporarily 
closed; a searching examination was made of seventeen German ves- 
sels, which had been lying at piers in New York or Hoboken since the 
opening of the war, lest they should attempt to make a dash to sea, or 
block a channel; officers and men on interned German raiders were 
denied shore leave ; torpedo boat destroyers at the New York navy yard 
were put in readiness for sea and the crew of the German freighter, 
Liebenfels, long anchored in Charleston harbor, opened the sea-cocks 
and sank her in forty feet of water. The press of Germany exhibited 
defiance in the face of public opinion in the United States. 

On the afternoon of February 3d President Wilson announced to 
Congress that diplomatic relations were broken, and in the message 
stated that "If American ships and American lives should be sacrificed, 
I shall take the liberty of coming again before the Congress to ask that 
authority be given me to use any means that may be necessary for the 
protection of our seamen and our people in the prosecution of their 
peaceful and legitimate errands on the high seas." 

The German ambassador, the several consuls, and their families 
comprised a party of 149 persons who took their departure from New 
York on the 14th of February. 

President Wilson suggested that it would make for the peace of the 
world if other neutral nations would take action similar to that taken 
by the United States. None of them did, but Switzerland, Holland, 
Spain, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Brazil, Chili, Peru, Cuba, and 
China protested against the ruthless submarine warfare and the re- 
stricted zone. 

The sinking of the American ship Housatonic it was thought would 
be the overt act to which the President had referred, but investigation 
of the case showed that the ship had been boarded and searched; that 



312 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

the crew had been given time to take to the boats, and later the boats 
were towed to the coast of England by the attacking submarine. 

The American national militia prepared for mobilization, public 
property was put under guard, great industrial plants gave notice that 
they were ready to cooperate in case of war — and meanwhile pacifists 
were making a formidable effort to protest against the declaration of 
war. The Senate passed a resolution approving the course taken by 
President Wilson. 

When the first week of submarine frightfulness had passed sixty- 
nine ships of various nations had been sunk. 

At this stage Germany presented verbally, through the Swiss min- 
ister, a proposition concerning submarine warfare. When the Presi- 
dent asked that it be submitted in writing Germany complied, stating 
that now, as before, she was willing to negotiate with the United States 
provided the commercial blockade against England will not be broken 
thereby. A response was forthcoming from our secretary of state 
saying that the United States would be glad to discuss matters pro- 
vided that the proclamation of January 31st be withdrawn and would 
not discuss submarine warfare unless assurances of May 4th would be 
renewed. The written note through the Swiss Government made it 
plain that Germany considered that the only subjects of negotiations 
were certain concessions regarding American ships carrying pas- 
sengers. 

Then on January 19th was announced the capture of the Hudson 
Maru and other ships to which reference was made in a previous para- 
graph. Germany alleged that the Americans captured were "removed 
as prisoners of war insofar as they had taken pay on armed vessels." 
Prisoners captured by sea raids totaled 1,389 — fifty-nine of whom 
were Americans. Demand was made for their release on the ground 
that they did not know when they shipped that Germany would treat 
armed merchantmen as ships of war. Whereupon the German For- 
eign Office replied that they would be released at once. 

But just at that time diplomatic relations were broken ; the men were 
not set free and the Swiss minister notified the Department of State 
that the men would be detained until the Imperial Government was 
informed concerning the treatment of the crews of German warships 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 313 

interned in American harbors and until she had definite assurances 
that the crews of German merchantmen would not be held or impris- 
oned. Washington was amazed. The crews of the raiders, Prinz 
Eitel Friedrich and Kronprinz Wilhelm, and of such gunboats as were 
interned at Guam and Honolulu were, under international law, held as 
prisoners during the war. German merchantmen were not interned, 
remained in our harbors as ports of refuge, were at liberty to put to 
sea at any time, and the members of their crews were as free as any 
aliens to enter our country on complying with the requirements of the 
immigration laws. Until then they were held aboard their ships by 
the immigration authorities. The United States had seized no German 
ships. A formal demand was then made through the Spanish ambas- 
sador for their immediate release. He was asked to say that if not 
liberated at once, "and allowed to cross the frontier without further 
delay," the United States would be forced "to consider what measures 
it may be necessary to take in order to obtain satisfaction for the con- 
tinued detention of these innocent American citizens." March nth 
they finally reached Zurich. 

When Von Bernstorfif was given his passports from the United 
States it naturally followed that our minister at Berlin, Mr. Gerard, 
should be relieved of official connections there. He was treated much 
like a prisoner on the pretext of uncertainty as to the treatment of Von 
Bernstorfif in this country. Germany professed to have no report from 
the United States to know how her ambassador and consuls were far- 
ing and made other excuses of suspected American offense against the 
usual customs in such cases. Not until the good treatment given to 
Germans in this country was known in Berlin was it arranged that the 
ambassador and attaches should go to Switzerland by way of Berne. 
Before Mr. Gerard left Germany ofificials of that country submitted 
to him a proposal to secure approval of a protocol to a treaty confirming 
and enlarging the privileges of German subjects in America and Amer- 
ican subjects in Germany. The existing treaty provided that subjects 
of each country should be exempt from war-time restrictions for a 
period of nine months after war should be declared. The whole pro- 
posal was rejected — first by the ambassador and later by the State 
Department when submitted through the Swiss minister. 



314 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Immediately after the severance of diplomatic relations relief work 
was abandoned in Belgium because of restrictions imposed by the mili- 
tary rule of Germany. The diplomatic privileges and immunities of 
our Belgian minister, Brand Whitlock, were withdrawn. Between 
March 25th and April loth four Belgian relief ships were sunk by 
German submarines. When relief work was abandoned by Americans 
it was taken up by the Dutch. 

President Wilson asked for authority to arm merchant vessels, stat- 
ing that Germany had established a blockade of our coasts by so terror- 
izing our merchants that our ships were not sent to sea. In response 
to this request a bill was introduced in Congress to appropriate $100,- 
000,000 for the protection of merchant vessels. 

With the announcement of the sinking of the Laconia debate over 
granting to the President power to afford protection for vessels went 
on until February 28th. It then developed through an announcement 
in the Associated Press that Germany was intriguing to unite Mexico 
and Japan against the United States, and had stated to these countries 
its determination to begin submarine warfare unrestricted. Germany 
promised financial support to Mexico, suggested that they make war 
together and together make peace, with the further suggestion that 
Mexico reconquer the lost territory of New Mexico, Texas, and Ari- 
zona. In the face of these developments opposition to the armed ship 
bill was dissipated and it was passed by the House of Representatives. 
When the Senate filibustered to prevent the passage of the bill before 
the session adjourned by limitation, seventy-five of the ninety-six mem- 
bers signed a protest. 

With Congress adjourned the Department of State notified members 
of the diplomatic body that an armed guard would be placed on all 
merchant vessels passing through the barred zone, and newspapers 
were asked not to publish sailing dates of vessels. 

At this time the Russian revolution developed; the Czar abdicated; 
and though the new government assured the Allies that they were 
desirous to continue in support of the Allied cause, the finding of stored 
food in Petrograd led to the conclusion that the old regime was trying 
to create an excuse for making a separate peace. 

Congress had been called to meet in extra session the i6th of April, 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 3 1 5 

but when the American ships, the City of Memphis, the Ilhnois, the 
Vigilancia were sunk by German U-boats it was apparent that the 
overt act had been committed. The date for Congress to assemble 
was now advanced to April 2d. 

The purposes of the President in calling the extra session were not 
long withheld. On the first day of their assembling he delivered the 
war message to that body. Pacifists behaved in an unseemly manner 
in seeking to retard him in his purpose, but never was he greeted by 
such applause, such cheering, as when he entered the chamber of the 
House, walked to the speaker's desk and looked out upon an excited 
audience, almost every member of which was waving a national flag. 
That night, before the two houses adjourned, a resolution declaring a 
state of war existed was introduced in each. After a debate of thir- 
teen hours the resolution passed the Senate, and on April 5th came 
before the House with a long report from the committee on foreign 
affairs. After some fifty speeches attacking and defending Germany 
the House, a few minutes after three o'clock on the morning of April 
6, 1917, passed the joint resolution; the yeas were 373 and the nays 50. 

Thus empowered to act, the President on April 6th issued a procla- 
mation declaring that "a state of war exists between the United States 
and the Imperial German Government." 

Orator Won State Contest 
A war-time oratorical accomplishment that is worthy of record in 
this volume was that of Miss Dewey Deal, a student in Buena Vista 
College, who, as a representative of that institution, won the state 
oratorical contest at Morningside College, Sioux City, March i, 1918. 
The text of the oration makes it especially enlightening with reference 
to the subject matter handled in this volume. Miss Deal spoke from 
the subject, 

THE POLICY THAT FAILED 

On the eighteenth day of June, 1815, Napoleon, who had made him- 
self master of all Europe, met his final defeat and another dream of 
world conquest had failed. When the armies were gathering for that 
mighty struggle at Waterloo there was born in the little kingdom of 
Saxony a leader who laid the foundation for another government whose 
ambition was "world power," whose motto was "Might makes Right." 



3i6 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

For more than thirty years after the fall of Napoleon the struggle 
for representative government and the rights of man grew and spread 
until the royal houses of the empires of Europe were shaken to their 
foundations, but the cause of Democracy and popular government did 
not produce a leader, outside of France, strong enough to overthrow 
royal power and destroy the military autocracies. 

This young Saxon, from the fall of Napoleon to 1848, watched the 
struggle for the rights of the people against the power of the King. 
During that time the genius of Sharnhorst built up a system of uni- 
versal military training in Prussia. Every man was taught that he 
was one of the defenders of the Fatherland. The military strength 
of Germany grew at the same time that the struggle for representative 
government came to the final test. 

The King of Prussia was repeatedly forced to promise a constitu- 
tional government to his people, which promise however, was never 
performed. The popular demand became so strong in 1848 that a 
convention was called for the purpose of forming a liberal constitution. 
The representatives of the people were confident and the King was 
alarmed. 

The young man of Saxony who had seen the struggle coming and 
had taken his position on the side of the King, was a delegate to this 
convention. This was his first appearance on the political stage of 
Europe upon which for more than a quarter of a century he was des- 
tined to play a leading part. He was chosen to represent the King 
because of his uncompromising belief in "the fundamental right of 
royalty to rule its subjects." The King of Prussia recognized the 
power of the man who was daring enough to follow this ruthless policy 
without hesitation ; the man who finally put into definite form the corner- 
stone of his national policy and announced to the astonished subjects 
of his royal master the road by which Germany should reach her ulti- 
mate destination. He said, "not by speeches and resolutions of majori- 
ties are the mighty problems of the age to be solved but by a policy 
of blood and iron." "Blood and Iron" became the foundation upon 
which the future power and greatness of Germany was reared by the 
master statesman of the nineteenth century, Prince Otto von Bismarck. 

Full in the face of the universal demand for representative govern- 
ment in Germany, Bismarck took his stand upon the side of his sover- 
eign. He had an unshaken belief in the divine right of kings and had 
the courage to announce his faith in that doctrine and to preach to the 
people of Germany a policy of absolute submission to the royal com- 
mand. 

His policy must necessarily be built upon military force. Every 



\ 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 317 

parliament that convened was asked to authorize expenditures for a 
great army. This authority was never granted, yet the army was 
organized, assessments were levied, and the people paid the taxes. 

In 1864 the Schleswig-Holstein controversy offered him his first op- 
portunity. By making rich promises to Austria, he secured the cooper- 
ation of her armies. After a brief but bitter fight, Denmark was de- 
feated and Schleswig and Holstein came under German and Austrian 
rule. 

Troubte at once arose over the division of the spoils of conquest. 
Bismarck had no intention that Austria should share in the plunder. 
When Austria saw that the German leader had played false, war was 
inevitable. Prussia welcomed the war because her armies were secret- 
ly equipped with the new breech-loading rifle. The defeat of the Aus- 
trians was assured in advance. Her armies were destroyed at the 
great battle of Sadowa. She relinquished all claim to Schleswig and 
paid a heavy indemnity as the price of peace. 

Bismarck well knew the temper of the German people, and knew that 
his policy was not yet accepted by them. The dispute with Napoleon 
III offered him another opportunity. By cleverly changing the word- 
ing of the famous Ems telegram, the people of both Germany and 
France were aroused to the most intense hatred against each other, 
and the Franco-Prussian war followed. Bismarck understood the 
weakness of Napoleon and knew the strength and power of the German 
war machine. In thirty days the armies of the French were scattered 
or destroyed. Alsace and Lorraine were annexed to Germany, France 
was compelled to pay an indemnity of one billion dollars and in the 
great palace at Versailles the leaders of all the scattered German states 
united in proclaiming William I as Emperor of all Germany. 

Almost in a day, from being the most hated man in the kingdom, 
Bismarck became its great national hero. The leaders of the demo- 
cratic movement forgot he was their enemy, the people accepted him as 
the greatest statesman in German history. They took the provinces, 
the indemnities and the policies of their leader and incorporated them 
into the German Empire and the German system of government. 

A long period of peace and industrial prosperity followed. From 
that time the political prestige, the industrial organization, and the edu- 
cational system of Germany progressed most "remarkably. With the 
growth of the power and prosperity of the empire, the position of her 
rulers became increasingly strong; individual thought, poHtical free- 
dom, and popular rights were surrendered. 

When the power and prestige of Bismarck was at its height, William 
I died. His son lived but a short time and William II came to the 



3i8 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

throne. It was not possible for two such men as Bismarck and Wil- 
helm to work together. Neither could accept advice nor take instruc- 
tion. The break soon came, Bismarck was retired and the young 
prince became heir to the military conquests, the prosperity and power 
that had been builded by his grandfather, by Von Moltke, and Bis- 
marck. 

This empire had been thoroughly converted to the beliefs and doc- 
trines of the great chancellor. There was no popular movement to- 
ward democracy. The German nation did not care to disturb the 
military system that had been organized by its war-lords. She was 
satisfied with the schools whose principal teaching was "Deutschland 
uber alles." She accepted a religion that recognized only a German 
God as the supreme ruler of the universe. After half a century under 
such a government, the time appeared to be ripe, the people were sub- 
missive, and the military thunderbolts of Germany were ready to be let 
loose upon the world. 

In July, 1914, the murder of an obscure Austrian prince gave the 
needed pretext for another conflict of aggression to satisfy the ambi- 
tions of the war mad Emperor and his people. Bismarck never would 
have committed himself to the present war. He probably would not 
have started a' world war at any time, and yet he must be held respon- 
sible for the working out of the policy which he inaugurated. William 
II accepted Bismarck's proposition and carried it to its logical conclu- 
sion. 

What does it mean to teach a great nation for more than a half cen- 
tury that the only way to attain its national destiny is by a policy of 
"blood and iron" ? For a hundred years hence, all the historians of the 
world will be busy writing the record of the result of such a policy. It 
has made the very name of Germany infamous throughout the civilized 
world. She disregarded her treaties. She signed her name to the 
solemn obligation to protect and defend the integrity of Belgium, yet 
she violated that pledge without a moment's hesitation, with no other 
apology than the plea of military necessity. 

Her most sacred argument is, it stood in the way of her military 
aggression, became a "mere scrap of paper." Her statesmen were 
pledged to the representatives of the civilized nations of the world, that 
unarmed merchant ships should not be sunk or destroyed without first 
safeguarding the lives of the passengers and crew. \Mien called upon 
to account for violating that pledge she solemnly agreed that the offense 
would not be repeated. Then, without warning, she destroyed the 
greatest passenger ship upon the waters of the oceans and a thousand 
defenseless men, women, and children perished. She sent her spies 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 319 

into every community of the civilized world with specific authority to 
stir up strife and wars between neutral nations, to destroy property, 
and to take the lives of any person or organization that interfered with 
Germany's military ambition. 

Within the walls of her vast factories, she seci-etly built monster 
guns, manufactured poisonous gases, and trained her soldiers to destroy 
without hesitation and without mercy anything or any man that stood 
in the path of her invading army. She built great ships of the air and 
sent them forth in the night to drop explosives upon peaceful cities, the 
homes of unarmed men and defenseless women and children ; attacking 
the hospitals of the sick and wounded that were maintained by the 
greatest organization of mercy and charity the world has ever seen. 
She taught absolute annihilation of the population in any territory 
occupied by her armies ; she adopted a policy of frightfulness to terror- 
ize the nations of the world that stood in the pathway of her military 
conquest. 

Her soldiers in obedience to the written orders of their commanders 
have committed more crimes than have occurred in the military history 
of the world. She stands condemned today in the eyes of right think- 
ing men and in all the years to come she will never be able to make 
right these wrongs. For more than two years we were unable to 
understand that the aim and ambition of the German government was 
world conquest. One hundred million people of a peace loving and 
law abiding nation were slowly awakening to the truth. 

The final chapter in this ruthless program of German}' was wr,itten, 
when in the face of her solemn agreement she announced to the world 
that she had resumed her policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. 

The time for temporizing, for argument had passed, the hour for 
action at last had come. William II had let loose against the whole 
civilized world his great fleet of pirates and murderers of the sea. 
Success appeared to be within his grasp. The fleets of Germany's foes 
were being wiped from the surface of all the seas. His starving and 
helpless enemies must surrender. 

William II and the thousand of his lords were feasting and celebrat- 
ing the anticipated victory. "They brought out the golden vessels, 
taken from the temple of the house of God. They drank wine and 
praised the gods of gold and of silver, of brass and of iron, of wood 
and of stone. In the same hour came forth the fingers of a man's 
hand and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the 
wall of the King's palace, and the King saw the part of the hand that 
wrote. Then the King's countenance was changed and his thoughts 
troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees 



320 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

smote one against another. Then was the part of the hand sent from 
him; and this writing was written: 'This is the interpretation of the 
thing: God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. Thou art 
weighed in the balance and found wanting.' The Government of the 
United States has declared war upon Germany." 

The policy of blood and iron had failed, and failed forever. 



THE AR^IY OF THE WORLD WAR 

IF ONE were to ask what has been the biggest achievement of the 
United States in all her histor}^, there could be only one answer: 
The Army of the World War. The growth of an army of but 
190,000 on April 6, 191 7, to one of 3,665,000 men on November 11, 
1918; the transporting of more than 2,000,000 men of this army to 
France; the training of this large number of men in the various de- 
partments of the army; and the furnishing of supplies and equipment 
to these various departments, constitute the almost unbelievable 
achievement of our country in the Army of the World War. 

Ths Growth of the Army 

On April 6, 1917, our army consisted of 190,000 men, with no definite 
plan for increasing it. There had been, of course, considerable dis- 
cussion previous to this time as to ways and means of building up an 
army, but all so indefinite that our army program dates from the 
declaration of war. At this time it was the concensus of opinion that 
while we must train a large army to be ready for any emergency, our 
part in the war was principally to furnish money and munitions to our 
allies — but not for long, as very soon the call from across the ocean 
became very insistent for men and more men to take part. 

The first response from the country following our entry into the war 
came in the form of ofifers of service from the people. For weeks there 
poured into the War Department an almost bewildering stream of 
letters and visitors offering services of every kind. The regular army 
was busy taking in new recruits. The governors of the various states 
had called the National Guard into state service in anticipation of the 
national call, and in order to build up its various companies to nearer 
war strength. Buena Vista County had no military organization; 
the nearest one was Company M, Iowa National Guard, at Cherokee. 

A mass meeting was held at Storm Lake on Saturday evening, April 
7, 1 91 7, at which time twelve enlisted for service, eleven of them in 



322 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Company M. Of this number, Claude Nichols, Harold Coulson, and 
Harold Labron failed to pass the physical examination. On April 
13th, Company M was invited down to Storm Lake to attend a large 
patriotic meeting. At this time six more men enlisted, and after that 
men were leaving nearly every day for places of enlistment. 

Congress rapidly perfected its legislative program, and in a few 
weeks very definite directions began to appear in the work of prepara- 
tion. The act of May i8th, entitled "An act to authorize the President 
to increase temporarily the military establishment of the United 
States," looked to three sources for the army which it created: 

1. The Regular Army, of which the actual strength on June 30, 
191 7, was 250,157 men and officers. The provisions of the act, how- 
ever, contemplated an increase to 13,377 officers and 470,185 enlisted 
men. 

2. The National Guard, containing on June 30, 19 17, approximate- 
ly 3,803 officers and 107,320 enHsted men. The provisions of the act, 
however, contemplated an increase to 13,377 officers and 455,800 en- 
listed men. 

3. In addition to this, the act provided for a National Army, raised 
by the process of selective conscription or draft, of which the President 
was empowered to summon two units of 500,000 men each at such time 
as he should determine wise. 

One of the most serious problems confronting the War Department 
in April, 191 7, was the procurement of sufficient officers to fill the re- 
quirements of the divisions that were to be formed for overseas duty. 
As the first step toward the solution of this problem it was decided to 
offer a three months' intensive training course to qualified civilians at 
summer training camps modeled after the Plattsburg idea, for which 
Major General Leonard Wood was so largely responsible. In August, 

1917, a total of 27,341 candidates were graduated from the first series 
of these officers' training schools, a number sufficient to meet the im- 
mediate needs of the army. A second series was held during Septem- 
ber, October, and November, and a third series from January to April, 

1918. The first two series were essentially civilian in character, and 
because of the need for officers of all grades commissions were granted 
up to the grade of colonel. The third series, however, drew ninety 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 323 

per cent of its candidates from the enlisted men of the army, and the 
other ten per cent from civihans of draft age who had received mihtary 
training at recognized educational institutions. The candidates in the 
third series were, upon satisfactory completion of the course, listed as 
eligible for appointment as second lieutenants and in a few weeks after 
graduation were commissioned and assigned to duty. 

First Officers' Training Camp 
George McCullough writes : 

There were about sixty men lined up at headquarters wheii we ar- 
rived and it took us about an hour to get an O. K. on our admission 
cards. We were then taken to the hospital and given an examination 
by army surgeons, and I might say this examination was the most rigid 
one could imagine. All men were stripped before the examination and 
it took about ninety minutes to go over the men who went in when we 
did. Many were rejected on account of poor teeth, poor sight or hear- 
ing, weak heart, flat feet, or for many other reasons. All the Storm 
Lake boys went through in good shape. We were then assigned to 
quarters. 

We drew our clothing, consisting of shirt, hat, shoes, leggins, trous- 
ers, coat, and our equipment, consisting of cot, mattress, two blankets, 
two mattress covers, two pillows, rifle, bayonet, haversack with all its 
contents, as soon as we had been accepted. In the engineer company 
we also have sheets and pillow cases. 

Our daily routine for the past week has been about the same except 
on Saturday. All men are expected to arise at 5 a.m., and be ready 
for the first drill at 5:25. This lasts until 5:55. Breakfast is served 
at 6:05 and the next drill is from 7 to 9 :30. This is the regular infan- 
try drill and it is surprising what progress has been made in one week. 
At 9:30 we go on a hike of four miles and get back at 10:30. From 
10:30 to 12 we have "conference." These consist of lectures and in- 
structions by regular army ofiicers on methods of warfare and duties of 
the officers. Dinner is served at 12:30. At i :30 we have drill again, 
this time with rifles and equipment, from sixty to ninetv minutes. Then 
we have aiming and sighting and another conference, which will usual- 
ly require the balance of the afternoon until 5 p.m. At 5 :45 we line 
up for retreat, when the flag is lowered. Supper comes on at 6:05, and 
7 to 9 in the evening we study for the next day's conferences. Lights 
in barracks are out at 9:15 and all lights on the reservation go off at 
II P.M. This makes up a real day, one that is strenuous indeed. 
Wednesday morning four men went to the hospital and Thursday 



324 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

morning there were fifty. But the main trouble was "sore feet" and 
all but five were sent back to their companies. Men used to out-door 
work stand this course of training well, but the men who come from 
offices are having a hard time. But in spite of this everybody is on 
the job all the time and no one has a single complaint to offer. Satur- 
day we had inspection. In spite of all the cleaning and rubbing of 
guns for days the inspector seems to be able to find grease and dust. 

On Saturday a part of the companies, including ours, had to take the 
anti-typhoid inoculation. It will give you an idea of the efficiency of 
this organization when I tell you that 1,292 men got "shot in the arm" 
in two hours and forty minutes by the hospital corps. The result of 
this treatment is some pretty sore arms, and in some cases heads, too. 
This is a three course treatment, the next one coming May 29th and 
the third one June 8th. 

Orders have been issued to keep the engineer company here five 
weeks and then take them to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for special 
training. 

It is too early to predict what our work will be at the end of the train- 
ing camp, but great stress is being laid on methods of training recruits, 
so we think part of the men at least will help train the conscript army. 

WAR SPIRIT GROWS 

This week ends the five weeks of preliminary training here, and an- 
other "sorting" has begun. There are 130 men here who want to join 
the coast artillery as officers. Fifty of them will be selected this week 
and sent to Fortress Monroe, Virginia, for special training. The 
cavalry men have all been transferred to the artillery and infantry, as 
it has been decided that any cavalry sent to France will go unmounted. 
Our company of engineers will be thinned out some and Saturday, 
June 1 6th, we leave for Fort Leavenworth. During the last three days 
nineteen men have gone back home. An examining board has been 
appointed to report on the cases of the men reported by company com- 
manders to be mentally, morally, or physically unfit. It seems to be 
the policy of the government to train only those men whom it is sure 
can do the work required. 

The real facts of war are becoming more evident to us here as our in- 
struction progresses. For the first two weeks we took bayonet drill 
as prescribed by the United States army. This has now been dis- 
carded and we are using the English and French systems. This drill 
has caused much thought among the men here. We are beginning to 
realize the things we must teach to thousands of young men in this 
country, and wondering what the effect is going to be. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 325 

I have seen many comments in the papers in regard to our food. 
As was to be expected, there was some confusion in getting started, 
but now we are getting good food and plenty of it. We haven't seen 
any pie or cake, but we seem to do well without them. Every article of 
food has its food value determined, and the amount and variety are 
determined by what the body requires of the different elements. 

We have seen no pay for work as yet and some of the men are 
getting low in funds. This is serious business and every hour must 
be made to count. 

MOVING OVER UNKNOWN ROUTE 

Yet another view of training camp activities is presented by George 
K. McCullough in writing from Fort Leavenworth under date of June 
23, 1917. In this letter he writes as follows: 

We had a good example of how the government moves troops when 
we came down here. We were unable to find out anything about the 
route we were to take, for they told us it had not been determined. 
Finally after we boarded the train the train crew told us we were to 
go via Omaha and down to Leavenworth on the Kansas side. About 
9 o'clock that night we found we were going through some towns 
that could hardly be on our Omaha route and then we finally were told 
that after starting the route had been changed. We came down here 
through Fort Dodge, Des Moines, St. Joseph, and then to Leaven- 
worth. 

The work we are having now is more along engineering lines, that 
is, military engineering, although we still have drill every day. One 
day this week we built a pontoon bridge across a lake here about three 
hundred feet wide, in less than three hours. These bridges are strong 
enough to carry troops marching four abreast, and artillery pieces. 
In fact they will carry anything that is required to cross except the 
largest of the motor trucks. Larger pontoon bridges have to be built 
where these are used. Quite a system of trenches has been built here 
for the benefit of the training camp. These include the barbed wire 
entanglements and the machine gun emplacements used in connection 
with the trenches. 

The engineering companies from camps at Fort Snelling, Fort Sher- 
idan, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Fort Riley, and one camp in Texas 
have all been sent here for the final work in our training, making 1,200 
men in all. We have a general mess, that is, the 1,200 men eat at one 
time in one room, and there surely is some system to the way they feed 
us. We are allowed fifteen minutes for breakfast and supper, and 
twenty minutes for dinner, and there is no trouble at all for everyone 



326 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

to get all they want to eat in that time. There are twenty-four cooks 
and seventy waiters employed, besides all the extra help in the kitchen. 
The feeding of these 1,200 men has been let by contract, and while we 
are not getting as good meals as we did at Snelling, still we are getting 
fair service. 

SHAM BATTLE TRAINING 

Training for actual warfare is the gist of a letter from George K. 
McCullough under date of July 14, 1917, as follows: 

This week we "followed the flag" for the first time. Up to date we 
have not had any of the formal parades and exercises. But now they 
have divided our eight companies into four parts of 300 men each, 
and every one of these groups puts on a formal battalion drill at 5 130 
P.M. This is officially designated as "retreat," and is the time when 
the flag is lowered for the night. It is a very inspiring sight. The 
prison band furnishes the music. 

We also had a real war this week, 600 men designated as the "Mis- 
souri Kids" on one side and 600 more known as "Kansas Blues" on the 
other side. We were with the Kansas Blues. We were armed with 
blank cartridges. The Missouri Kids crossed the terminal bridge over 
the Missouri River at Leavenworth and attempted to capture our store- 
house at Fort Leavenworth. We had a lively time and a good deal of 
noise. The result hasn't been announced by the umpire, but the store- 
houses are still there. 

A fourth series of officers' training schools, with an initial enroll- 
ment of 13,114, was established May 15, 1918, in twenty-four National 
Army and National Guard divisions in the United States. These 
schools were an integral part of the divisions to which they were 
attached and under the original plan the school would accompany the 
division when it moved. Due to the urgent need of line officers, how- 
ever, these schools were separated from their divisions, five central 
officers' training schools were established at permanent replacement 
camps, and candidates for such divisions as were scheduled for early 
overseas service were transferred to these central schools. On No- 
vember I, 1918, there were about 46,000 candidates in these schools. 

Eleven men from Buena Vista County made application to the first 
officers' training school, of whom seven were called and sent to Fort 
Snelling, where all received commissions. The other four were called 
for the second school. In the list of records will be found the names 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 327 

of the above mentioned men and also those of many other Buena Vista 
County men who attended these schools. 

On the 3d day of July, 19 17, the President by proclamation called 
into the federal service the national guard of the several states. 

The principle of voluntary enlistments to fill up the ranks of the 
Regular Army and the National Guard was preserved in the act of May 
18, 191 7, the maximum age for enlistment in either service being fixed 
at forty years. The total number of enlistments for the Regular Army 
for the fiscal year 1917 was 160,084. The act authorizing the increase 
in the military establishment provided that any deficiency remaining 
in either the National Army or the National Guard should be made up 
by selective conscription. The introduction of this new method of 
enlistment so far afifected the whole question of selection for military 
service that any deductions, either favorable or unfavorable, from the 
number of voluntary enlistments, would be unwarranted. 

In the preparation of the act providing for the temporary increase in 
the military establishment, very earnest consideration was given by the 
committees of the two Houses of Congress and by the department to 
the principles which would be followed in creating a tremendous 
emergency facing the nation. Our own history and experience with 
the volunteer system afforded little precedent because of the new con- 
ditions, and the experience of European nations was neither uniform 
nor wholly adequate. Our adversary, the German Empire, had for 
many years followed the practice of universal compulsory military 
training and service, so that it was a nation of trained soldiers. In 
France the same situation had existed. In England, on the other hand, 
the volunteer system had continued, and the British army was rela- 
tively a small body. The urgency, however, of the British need at the 
outbreak of the war, and the unbroken traditions of England, were 
against even the delay necessary to consider the principle upon which 
action might best be taken, so that England's first effort was reduced to 
that voluntary system, and her subsequent resort to the draft was 
made after a long experience in raising vast numbers of men by volun- 
tary enlistments as a result of campaigns of agitation and patriotic ap- 
peal. The war in Europe, however, had lasted long enough to make 



328 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

quite clear the character of the contest. It was obviously no such war as 
had ever before occurred, either in the vast number of men necessary 
to be engaged in strictly military occupations or in the elaborate and 
far-reaching organization of industrial and civil society of the nation 
back of the army. 

Our military legislation was drafted after very earnest considera- 
tion, to accomplish the following objects : 

1. To provide in successive bodies adequate numbers of men to be 
trained and used as combatant forces. 

2. To select for these armies men of suitable age and strength. 

3. To distribute the burden of the military defense of the nation in 
the most equitable and democratic manner, and to that end to recognize 
the universality of the obligation of service. 

4. To reserve to the public authorities power so to control the selec- 
tion of soldiers as to prevent the absorption of men indispensable to 
agriculture and industry, and to prevent the loss of national strength 
involved by the acceptance into the military service of men whose 
greatest usefulness is in scientific pursuits or in agricultural produc- 
tion. 

5. To select, so far as may be, those men for military service whose 
family and domestic obligations could best bear their separation from 
home and dependents, and thus to cause the least possible distress among 
the families of the nation as a whole, and assuming both the obligation 
and the willingness of the citizen to give the maximum of service, 
institute a national process for the expression of our military, indus- 
trial, and financial strength, all at its highest, and with the least waste, 
loss, and distress. 

The people soon saw the essential fairness of the selective draft. 
They saw it meant honor to the men who could compose the great 
American army. The word "selective" indicated that the government 
would find a man and say to him ; "A great work is to be done. The 
government needs strong men, fighters, brave men who will go on and 
accomplish the purpose of this war. You are such a man. Come." 

The argument was good. Its interpretation came to mean exactly 
this : The man inducted into the American National Army was hon- 
ored above his fellows who, falling short, were not acceptable to the 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 329 

government. The men of the National Army, save in few instances, 
felt honored. They were honored. 

The ages first agreed upon for the men to be chosen by selective 
draft were twenty-one to thirty-one inclusive, which meant that a man 
who had not yet reached the age of thirty-two years should be drafted. 
The War Department had asked for ages eighteen to twenty-eight. 

Within a year the larger range of ages was seen to be right, and 
the draft ages became from eighteen to fortv-five, partly in order to 
deal more efifectively with the labor needs of essential industries. But 
in order to assure supply of educated young men as officers and for 
technical work the younger ages were assisted to go to college rather 
than sent immediately into the field. 

The selective draft law was pronounced constitutional by the United 
States Supreme Court, its operation worked out by the War Depart- 
ment, its interpretation given to the press, and the work of the new 
army-making machinery was begun. 

The Work of Crowder 

The directing head of the draft system was Provost Marshal Crow- 
der, whose efficient methods of applying the selective draft and explain- 
ing its many angles and various provisions won the admiration of the 
entire nation and its allies. 

Provost Marshal General Crowder was ofifered as a reward for his 
achievement immediate promotion to lieutenant general but modestly 
refused it on the grounds that he did not deserve more than many 
others who had made the American war machine possible. 

Draft boards were appointed throughout the country, composed of 
business and professional men ; the nation was divided into small dis- 
tricts; registrars were appointed for each district, who acted without 
pay; and the time set for the registration on June 5, 19 17, of the mil- 
lions of American men whose ages were twenty-one to thirty-one inclu- 
sive. Pro-Hun agitators predicted riot and insurrection. There 
was opposition only by isolated cranks ; 9,586,508 men walked quietly 
to the appointed places and registered. Buena Vista County regis- 
tered 1,932. The following is the list of men who served without pay: 



330 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

BuENA Vista County Registrars 

E. L. Chindlund, Brooke Frank W. Mack, Storm Lake, 

H. L. Steig, Washington Fourth Ward 

Robert Gring, Hayes Roy U. Kinne, Storm Lake, Fourth 

John C. Bell, Storm Lake, Third Ward 

Ward Don G. LaGrange, Storm Lake, 

R. A. Jones, Storm Lake, Third Second Ward 

Ward T. D. Eilers, Storm Lake, First 

L. C. Anderson, Elk Ward 

W. L. Clough, Lee H. G. Mittelstadt, Storm Lake, 

D. E. Ingram, Lee First Ward 

C. L. Sipe, Sioux Rapids J. N. Horlacher, Washington 

J. H. Wegerslev, Marathon Oscar Peterson, Maple Valley 

Joel E. Johnson, Poland W. L. Holtz, Newell 

C. J. Benna, Fairfield L. F. Parker, Newell 

C. E. Gulbranson, Albert City James Jensen, Providence , 

H. L. Pierce, Linn Grove A. B. Haeth, Providence 

E. O. Loe, Barnes S. B. Crouch, Grant 

H. C. Berger, Rembrandt James G. Anderson, Coon 

Fred A. Nelson, Rembrandt Ira Angier, Storm Lake Township 

G. H. Edwards, Storm Lake C. H. Wegerslev, Alta 

Township L. E. Swanson, Alta 

A. C. Smith, Storm Lake, Second R. A. Edwards, Scott 

Ward R. H. Leonard, Lee 

Fred H. Higgins, Grant Louis Morris, Brooke 

Robert C. Fulton, Hayes 

The registrants had been clerks, farmers, factory workers, miners, 
teachers, students, professional men, idle millionaires. But they all 
quickly became soldiers. Many of them became heroes on the field of 
action, all of them were heroes in the hearts of their own people. 

The Procession Overseas 

As the camps were completed and enlarged and as the officers' train- 
ing camps graduated leaders, more calls were filled by the draft boards 
and the National Army grew. Then the War Department began send- 
ing vmits to Europe. Some were taken to England for last training, 
and others found their last training camps in France. And more men 
were called from civil life to the cantonments. 

Provost A^Iarshal Crowder, meanwhile, was watching everything 
connected with the operation of the selective draft and the making of 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 331 

an army. He saw that many hundreds of thousands of youths not 
twenty-one years of age wlien tlie law became operative, were reach- 
ing their majority, and Congress passed an act bringing such young 
men under the jurisdiction of the new law. President Wilson, with 
the anniversary idea in mind, issued a proclamation naming June 5, 
1918, as the day for such youths to register. This brought 735,834 
youngsters into the operation of the selective draft law, a heavy per- 
centage of whom easily qualified physically for service. 

On August 13, 1918, President Wilson issued a proclamation re- 
quiring those who had attained the age of twenty-one since the regis- 
tration of June 5th to register on August 24th. On this supplemen- 
tary second registration 159,161 young men of age twenty-one were 
registered. Buena Vista County registered 196 on June 5th and 
August 24th. 

The military situation in August was such that it was seen that all 
class one men would be called by October ist, and with the general 
program of the War Department 2,000,000 men would have to be 
called to service by June, 1919, in addition to those called by October 
1st. A bill was, therefore, passed by Congress, and signed by the 
President on August 31st, to register all male citizens and declarants 
between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, both inclusive. The 
proclamation was issued for holding the registration on September 12, 
1918. *The total registration was 12,966,594. Buena Vista County 
registered a total of 4,377. 

The total number of men in the army, navy, and marine corps was 
4,178,172, of which 2,810,296 men were inducted through the selective 
service. 

Local Board for Buena Vista County 

Under the act of Congress of May 18, 1917, every sheriff and 
county clerk (in Iowa the county auditor) was appointed as a member 
of county registration boards, and asked and expected to serve without 
compensation, which this board did. In the latter part of June, 191 7, 
the registration board was discharged as their work was finished, and 
immediately thereafter the President appointed the same county offi- 
cers to constitute local exemption boards. The registration board 
and the first exemption board of this county was made up of Dr. J. H. 



332 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

O'Donoghue, medical member, Auditor W. W. Bennett, and Sheriff 
B. F. Skeels, who acted as secretary. In the latter part of July, after 
Dr. O'Donoghue had enlisted in the medical division of the army. Dr. 
F. C. Foley of Newell was appointed by Governor W. L. Harding as 
the medical member of the board, and with the above named county 
officers served until the close of the war. In addition to these, Dr. 
J. W. Morrison of Alta, Dr. J. A. Swallum, Dr. E. D. Banghart, and 
Dr. R. V. Graves, all of Storm Lake, and Dr. M. N. Armstrong of 
Newell, were appointed by the governor as assistant examining phy- 
sicians of the board, though they did not have the standing as regularly 
constituted members. Clerks who assisted with the work of the board 
were Miss Ida Eckert of Storm Lake, Mrs. Edwin Hoch of Storm 
Lake, Charles Rawlins of Storm Lake, and Carl Larson, a limited 
service man from Red Oak, Iowa. 

Provost Marshal's Re;port 

A resume of the duties and problems of the local boards is covered 
in the following quotations from the report of Provost INIarshal Crow- 
der. 

The duty of the local board was to mobilize the selectives as directed. 
But in this concise statement is comprised the entire gamut of a hun- 
dred complex processes. Except for the initial registration of June 
5, 191 7, the local boards had charge of every one of the steps in the 
transit from home to camp. 

The registration was the first main stage of the process. Then 
came the determination of order and serial numbers. The classifica- 
tion was the next and largest stage. And finally came the call and the 
entraiiiment. But each of these parts became itself a center for many 
minor processes, and each of these in turn for others. Moreover, each 
individual case had its own variety or peculiarity, and led to special 
inquiries and deliberations. Add to this, that records must be accu- 
rately kept of each act done in every part of every registrant's case. 
And, besides the attention necessary for merely reaching an official 
decision, there was added the time and labor demanded in almost every 
case for a cluster of tentative and informal inquiries appurtenant to 
matters coming before the board. The regulations composed a thick 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 333 

volume, numbering 250 sections and 433 pages, with more than 100 
important forms ; and these must be mastered for daily and instant use. 

In short, the duties of the local boards, even when considered merely 
in the dry enumeration of their several details, constituted a complete 
and intricate administrative system. It would be idle here to set 
them forth in detail ; suffice it to say that there is scarcely a page in the 
entire volume of regulations which does not contain a half dozen times, 
in endless variety, that most familiar phrase of duty, "The local board 
shall proceed" to do this or that. 

The annals of every board, no doubt, here run much the same. But 
the following letter to a state adjutant general, with its frank but 
good-humored repartee and its revelation of dogged perseverance un- 
der a hopeless overload, may be taken as typical of the cheerful and 
manly American spirit which helped the boards to carry their heavy 
duties; the letter -was written in response to a request for an immediate 
report of progress due to be made in the classification of registrants of 
September 12, igiS: 

Sir: Because this board and its meager stafif is so busy 
Counseling registrants — 
Reconciling mothers — 

Patiently answering dozens of inquiries bv mail, telephone, and tele- 
graph — 

Issuing permits for passports — 

Writing to transfer boards and telling them what to do with Form 
200S-A — 

Making out induction papers for S. A. T. C. registrants 

Copying our 4,439 registration cards — 

Writing up cover sheets — 

Hunting up questionnaires without order numbers in order to ap- 
pend additional late arrival affidavits of the X. Y. Z. Co. for deferred 
industrial classification in Class II of aliens (who are sure to be in 
Class V) — 

Preparing routings and transportation requests for individual 
inductants under competent orders, who are to be entrained for Kelly 
Field, San Antonio, Texas, or Carlstrom Field, Arcadia, Florida — 

Counseling the poor innocents as to how manv "suits of underwear 
shall I take?" — 

Advising them firmly though with kindness what while requests for 
tourist sleeping-car accommodations will be issued to them, our experi- 



334 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

ence is that there will be no tourist cars available, and that they will 
sleep on the floor — 

Preparing seven meal tickets, three copies for each man — 

Issuing new registration cards and new final classification cards to 
men who have "had their pocketbooks stolen" (?) and are afraid of 
being rounded up — 

Issuing certificates of immunity to 46-year old men who present 
proofs of birth date so that they won't be rounded up — 

Advising colored ladies (to their manifest satisfaction) as to pros- 
pective Government allotments and allowances to come from their 
casual spouses when in the service — 

Telling anxious Y. M. C. A. recruits how they can apply to have 
their cases reopened and claims for occupational exemption consid- 
ered — 

Advising by mail the assistant district attorney of county, who 

desire to prosecute a registrant for not supporting a wife — - 

Trying to keep several thousand questionnaires and registration 
cards, minus order numbers as yet, out of irremediable chaos due to 
lack of filing cabinets or other facilities — 

Reconciling our hardworking limited service man to writing up his 
"daily morning reports" on a form adajited for a full company of men, 
including mules — 

Conducting voluminous correspondence with perturbed mustering- 
in officers at distant cantonments about registrants who have been 
picked up without Form 1007 in their possession and shot into camp 
without proper induction papers in order that some yap deputy sheriff 
can get the $50 reward because he needed the money — 

Futilely registering ex-soldiers and sailors discharged for physical 
disability — 

Getting into a corner occasionally and going crazy trying to study 
out an abstruse legal problem from an interesting 433 page textbook 
called Selective Service Regulations, second edition, Form 99- A — 

Classifying questionnaires — 

Engaging, for physical examinations of several hundred men, doc- 
tors who are already bereft of their wits on account of the Spanish 
influenza — 

Preparing dozens and dozens and dozens of Form 1 010 for these ex- 
aminations, three copies of each — 

Postponing the examinations after all, because the doctors simply 
can't come, and redating all the Forms loio — 

Doing dozens more things daily and nightly and Sundays and holi- 
days, of which the foregoing are mere samples — 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 335 

Because, I say, the board and its meager staff are so busy with a 
number of such matters, I beg to report — 

That, though probably about half the questionnaires of the "First 
series, registrants of September, lyiS," have been classified, we haven't 
time or inclination or energy to count them, even approximately ; about 
half the physical examinations have been concluded, and on Sunday 
we are going to try to catch up with our correspondence, if the master 
list doesn't come, which we presume it will, however, in which event, 
we hope to have four volunteer typists pound out five copies of Form 
102 (the churches are all closed, so it won't matter) — and, anyhow, 
we lost the "Progress chart" the very day it arrived, and it is our 
opinion, if we may be permitted the liberty to express it, that what the 
Government wants (or ought to want in the present urgency) is men, 
not classifications, and we firmly believe that the boys on the firing 
line in France don't care a whoop in hades how many registrants 
Local Board No. 3 of Union County classifies in Class V or in Class 
IV, Division A, so we called out every man who made no claim or who 
waived all claims, or who had a manifestly insufficient claim, classified 
him at once, and called him for physical examination ; if it were not 
for the blessed epidemic, we should be ready to report practically full 
completion of physical examinations now ; but we shall be in any event, 
with a week, even if we explode in the attempt and incapacitate for 
all time the few remaining distraught doctors that are still available 
to cajolery and patriotic urging; in the meantime, we shall classify 
now and then, when we can, an alien or two, to swell our general list 
of classifications. 

The fact is, we have been wanting to write this letter since we were 
appointed in May, 191 7, so excuse it please. Furthermore — and we 
say this in no mood of rancor or in undue pride of spirit — we don't 
care if you do send it to the Provost Marshal General. In fact, we 
wish you would. No more benevolent attention could accrue to mem- 
bers of local boards than the gently joys of court-martial and cool 
retirement somewhere in nice quiet cells, fed and cared for, during the 
period of the balance of the Emergency. 

And further deponent sayeth not (because his wife has just tele- 
phoned as to why the deuce he doesn't come home, he'll surely be sick), 
and will now quench the midnight shining bulb, and go, and try to get 
around early in the morning and endeavor to find that lost "Progress 
chart" (drat it). 

But it is idle to attempt to put into words here the full story of what 
the local boards achieved. Every military man must recognize what 



336 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

they did for the nation's army ; and every civilian must recognize what 
they did for the nation's Hberty and welfare. And every American 
is proud of them. Whatever of credit is accorded to other agencies 
of the selective service law, the local boards must be deemed the corner- 
stone of the system. 

Government Appeal Agents 

Local and district boards had exclusive authority to pass upon ques- 
tions vitally affecting the interests of the individual and the Govern- 
ment. But there is fallibility in all bodies exercising judicial func- 
tions ; and it was early foreseen that, whatever the character and abihty 
of the personnel of such boards, errors of judgment would undoubted- 
ly creep in. These occurrences, unless an ample opportunity was given 
to correct them, would tend to raise doubt in the mind of the American 
public as to the fairness of the execution of the law relied upon to pro- 
duce our armies. Provision was therefore made at the outset by which 
individuals were given adequate means, in cases affecting their inter- 
est, to make their appeal from the boards of original jurisdiction to 
appellate tribunals. But it would have been manifestly unwise to 
provide such safeguards for individuals and yet to neglect to make 
similar provisions for the full protection of the interest of the Govern- 
ment. 

In the majority of instances, county and city attorneys were ap- 
pointed to perform these duties. The Government appeal agent ap- 
pointed for Buena Vista County was Guy E. Mack, county attorney. 

Under the selective service regulations effective December 15, 191 7, 
the governors of the various states were authorized to designate for 
each local board one or more persons to take appeals for and on behalf 
of the United States. 

Their duties, however, were so enlarged that they were now re- 
quired to appeal, from deferred classifications by a local board, rulings 
which in the opinion of the appeal agent were erroneous; to care for 
the interests of ignorant registrants; to inform them of their rights, 
where the decision of the local board was against the interests of such 
persons, or where it appeared that such persons would not take appeals, 
due to their nonculpable ignorance, and to assist them to enter appeals 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 337 

to the district board ; to investigate and report upon matters submitted 
for such purpose by local or district boards ; to suggest a reopening of 
any case where the interests of justice might require ; to impart to the 
local board any information which in the opinion of the appeal agent 
ought to be investigated; to furnish suggestions and information to 
the district boards; to instruct local boards to take additional proof; 
to receive information from interested persons afifecting any case under 
the jurisdiction of the boards where such interested persons did not 
desire to make a personal disclosure to the boards ; and to prepare 
appeals in any cases, whether by the registrant or by the Government, 
where he considered appeals to be to the interest of the Government. 
In these various capacities the Government appeal agent was author- 
ized to administer oaths; and, in fact, a large proportion of the time 
of the appeal agents was taken up in assisting with the probate of 
questionnaires. / 

We quote from provost marshal general's report : 

The outstanding fact that this duty was performed uncomplainingly 
and without any compensation whatever, places them in the enviable 
position of the patriot who is unrewarded, save in the consciousness of 
duty well performed, and in the knowledge that both the Government 
and the people composing it proudly acknowledge a debt which can 
not be liquidated. 

Legal Advisory Board 

The legal adage that "Ignorance of the law is no excuse" could not, 
as a practical proposition, be applied to the administration of the selec- 
tive service law. After a very few months of the draft it was recog- 
nized that a law which applied alike to the literate and illiterate, and 
the success of which depended upon the prompt compliance of regis- 
trants, could be successfully enforced only by careful instruction of the 
people as to its requirements and by assisting them in meeting those 
requirements. 

Some ready and competent means of bringing the selective service 
system to registrants of every description and of assisting them in dis- 
charging the duties imposed by the draft, were obviously necessary. 
The selective service law and regulations contained many technical 
requirements which people not versed in legal matters might find con- 
fusing. In searching the field for an agency which might meet the 



338 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

situation, the legal profession was naturally resorted to as the institu- 
tion best fitted for the service. 

The fullest success of the plan for availing the selective service 
system of the services of attorneys, and of other citizens in a position 
to assist registrants, could be attained only by the utilization of the 
maximum number of attorneys. It was, however, realized that greater 
efficiency would be had by constituting small committees. These could 
be held to strict accountability. For the assistance of those commit- 
tees, as many other attorneys and other public spirited citizens as 
possible would be associated. Pursuant to this plan, there was con- 
stituted for each local board a legal advisory board, composed of three 
reputable attorneys, whose duties were to see that there should always 
be a competent force of lawyers or laymen available to registrants at 
any time during which the local or district boards within such district 
were open for business. To legal advisory boards fell the task of 
mobilizing assistant advisers for their districts and of distributing as 
evenly as possible the work to be exacted of them. These latter ad- 
visers were called associated legal advisers. 

Legal advisory members were constantly consulted with reference to 
legislation cognate to the selective service act. Particularly was this 
so in the case of the soldiers' and sailors' civil rights act and the war 
risk insurance act. 

The task of legal advisers lasted for the duration of the war. When 
it became apparent that Class I w^as not as large as had been reckoned 
upon, and that a general rectification was necessary, legal advisory 
board members were asked in May of 1918 to cooperate with local 
boards in accomplishing that reclassification. With this request there 
was a most hearty compHance. Again, in September, 191 8, the new 
registration laid upon the selective service officials a task equivalent 
to all that they had previously accomplished, and legal advisory boards 
were again called upon to help meet the situation. Willingly and 
promptly they reconvened, and placed themselves at the disposal of the 
new registrants, as they had done with respect to the old. 

Provost Marshal Crowder says : 

There is no brighter chapter in the history of the draft than that of 
the services rendered by the lawyers of the country. Legal advisers 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 339 

richly deserve the credit for upholding the tradition of American fair- 
ness in the administration of her laws. Not only did the expert advice 
accorded by the lawyers of the country contribute toward the expedi- 
tious creation of an army; but the impression of equity engendered 
.by their services was of inestimable value in developmg and in main- 
taining a healthy morale in the body politic. On the honor list of the 
war must be numbered the thousands of lawyers and other public- 
spirited citizens who, without emolument and without the glory of the 
battlefield, served their country by supporting and aiding in the admin- 
istration of the most drastic legislation of the last half century. 

LegaIv Advisory Board 

James DeLand, Chairman 
A. L. Whitney A. D. Bailie 

Associate Legal Advisers 

STORM lake NEWELL 

W. C. Edson Geo. W. Chaney 

Guy E. Mack L. F. Parker 

J. E. Buland Ab Foster 

Roy Kinne rEmbrandt 

T. H. Chapman H. H. Covey 

SIOUX rapids H. C. Berger 
C. L. Sipe truesdale 

T. M. Murdock H. H. Lang 

LINN GROVE G. F. Thompson 
E. O. Loe ALTA 

H. L. Pierce C. H. Wegerslev 



j=>^ 



MARATHON A. R. Browne 

J. H. Wegerslev G. F. Tincknell 

E. B. Wells GRANT TOWNSHIP 

ALBERT CITY Rev. F. Albrecht 

A. L. Bergling 
C. E. Gulbranson 

BuENA Vista County Instruction Board for Drafted Men 

A. E. Harrison, Chairman 
C. E. Akers, Storm Lake R. R. Morrow, Sioux Rapids 

S. G. Reinertsen, Alta D. M. Bateson, Linn Grove 

C. B. Whitehead. Albert City H. H. Linton, Newell 

The purpose of this board was to meet drafted men two to four 



340 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

times before they left for service. Instruction was given in the causes 
of M^ar, why America entered the war and why America must win the 
war. The necessary character of the American soldier was taken up 
in detail with information concerning the duties of a soldier upon 
entering camp. Complete information was given concerning the work 
of the United War Work Organizations and the services they ren- 
dered and the assistance given by the American Red Cross. 

War risk insurance, compensation, and allotments and allowances 
were explained and advice was given concerning the securing of these. 

Points and suggestions were given about keeping well and in keep- 
ing the body clean and free from venereal diseases. 

Instruction was also given in military courtesies. 

This board was organized June 15, 1918. Instruction was given 
to 600 men, in twelve different meetings. A lange number of the men 
were met two times and some more than two times. 

The work of this board was being fully developed at the time of 
the signing of the armistice and the work was disbanded November 
15, 1918. 

Provost Marshal Crowder, in his report, says: 

The value of this work in fitting them to become good soldiers more 
rapidly is shown by the numerous reports from the boards of instruc- 
tion, relating with satisfaction that a large number of their men who 
had taken this training were made noncommissioned officers within a 
short time after arrival at camp. 

Had the war continued, and had the new registrants of ages eigh- 
teen to forty-five been called into the military service, there can be no 
doubt that the work of the boards- of instruction would have been a 
most effective means of improving the pre-induction morale of the 
selectives, and thus of making more effective the organized army. 

Transporting the Army 
After the entrance of the United States into the war, missions of a 
diplomatic and military character from the great belligerent countries 
at war with Germany visited the United States. Upon each of them 
men of military distinction and soldiers of prominence came to bring 
us the benefit of the experience of their respective armies in the war. 
As a result of the exchanges of views which took place between the 
military missions to the United States and our own Government, it 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 341 

was determined to begin at once the dispatch of an expeditionary force 
of the American army to France. General John J. Pershing was 
selected as commander in chief and with his staff departed for France, 
to be followed shortly by a full division. 

Immediately thereafter there was formed the so-called Rainbow 
Division, made up of National Guard units of many states. The pur- 
pose of its organization was to distribute the honor of early partici- 
pation in the war over a wide area. The marines, with their fine 
traditions and honorable history, were likewise recognized, and regi- 
ments of marines were added to the first forces dispatched. These 
were all safely transported and enabled to traverse without loss the 
so-called danger zone infested by the stealthy and destructive subma- 
rine of the enemy. The organization and dispatch of the expedition- 
ary force required the preparation of an elaborate transport system, 
involving not only the procurement of ships and their refitting for 
service as troop and cargo transports, but also extensive organizations 
of terminal facilities both in this country and France ; and in order to 
surround the expeditonary force with every safeguard, a large surplus 
of supplies of every kind were immediately placed at their disposal in 
France. Our activities in this regard resulted in the transporting 
of an army to France fully equipped, with adequate reserves of equip- 
ment and subsistence, and with those large quantities of transportation 
appliances, motor vehicles, railroad construction supplies, and animals, 
all of which were necessary for the maintenance and effective opera- 
tions of the force. 

The act authorizing the temporary increase of the military estab- 
lishment empowered the department to create special organizations 
of technical troops. Under this provision railroad and stevedore regi- 
ments were formed, and special organizations of repair men and 
mechanics to render service back of the French and English lines in 
anticipation of and training for their later service with the American 
army. By this means, the United States had already rendered service 
of great value to the common cause, these technical troops having 
actually carried on opei"ations for which they were designed in effec- 
tive cooperation with the British and French armies behind hotly con- 
tested battle fronts. 



342 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Railroading in France 

The following is by William F. Bryant and Arthur J. Johnson of 
the Thirteenth Railway Engineers. These men were together through- 
out the entire period of their enlistment. 

We landed in France on August 17, 191 7, and immediately were 
sent to Chalons where we spent about six weeks learning to operate 
French trains. The French trains were not very much like our Amer- 
ican trains, the average size of their engines runs smaller than ours 
and their freight cars are very much smaller, and I am sure that any 
men of the A. E. F. will remember them well as they probably have 
all had a ride as passengers on them. Nearly all the cars have a sign, 
"Eight Horses or Forty Men" as their capacity. 

From Chalons we went to Fleury-sur-Aire, which is located about 
five miles from the front lines. This town was the headquarters of 
the Thirteenth Railway Engineers. There were about 1,200 men in 
our regiment. These men represented all the various lines of work 
required to operate a system of railroads : such as conductors, brake- 
men, engineers, firemen, operators, dispatchers, trackmen, repair men, 
etc., and our officers acted in the same capacity as superintendents, 
trainmasters, road supervisors, and other executive positions as 
handled in this country. 

The average train crew consisted of an engineer, a fireman, a con- 
ductor, and three brakemen. These crews usually had a regular "run" 
between certain terminals or towns, such as between Sommeille and 
Verdun. This was a distance of about sixty kilometers. The loads 
carried on this train varied from troops to ammunition and supplies of 
all kinds. The trains had to stop at all stations intervening between 
these points to have their orders signed by the operator at each station. 
The round trip on this "run," for instance, might take from twelve 
to seventy hours, according to the difficulties they might meet with 
enroute. The possibility of delay ranged from having the track dam- 
aged by enemy shellfire or aerial bombs to the train being hit by enemy 
shellfire or aerial bombardment or on account of gas attack. 

The ammunition and supplies carried would be unloaded at the 
terminal or at the point nearest to the front lines to which the train 
could be taken. The unloading was done by a special detail of soldiers 
located at these points. 

Embarkation Service 
In the nineteen months elapsing from the declaration of war to the 
signing of the armistice, the army created an embarkation service 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 343 

which succeeded in shipping overseas 2,075,834 men and 5, 153,000 tons 
of cargo. Even these figures do not adequately express the extraor- 
dinary nature of the achievement. As time was required for the drafting 
and training of men and for organizing the production of suppHes, 
most of the stupendous movement occurred in the last half of our active 
participation in the war. In the final ten months, from January i, 
1918, to the signing of the armistice, the army embarked 1,880,339 
men and shipped 4,660,000 tons of cargo. Nothing to compare with the 
movement, of this tremendous number of men and tons of supplies 
across the Atlantic Ocean is known in the military history of the world. 

Organization of the; Embarkation Service 
At the start of the war the quartermaster's department was main- 
taining a small steamer service to Panama, in addition to the transport 
service from the Pacific Coast to the Philippines ; and the transporta- 
tion of troops and supplies for the expeditionary force was given over 
to this department. Two primary ports of embarkation were estab- 
lished, one with headquarters at Hoboken, New Jersey, and the other 
at Newport News, Virginia, and each was placed under the command 
of a general officer. A number of American steamers were chartered 
as transports and the North German Lloyd and Hamburg-American 
piers at Hoboken were taken over. In February, 19 18, as the move- 
ment of troops and supplies continued to increase in volume, and the 
diversity and complexity of the problems of securing and loading 
suitable ships became greater, the shipping control committee was 
created and charged with responsibility for the allocation and distribu- 
tion of available ships and for the exchange of tonnage with the Allies, 
with the loading and unloading of cargo in United States ports, coal- 
ing, supplies, repairs, and inspection and manning of vessels except 
those commanded by the navy. It also has had charge of the manage- 
ment and operation of docks, piers, slips, and the loading and dis- 
charging facilities connected therewith. 

Port Developments 
New York and Newport News remained the principal ports of em- 
barkation, half the cargo and over four-fifths of the troops being 
shipped from the former and a fourth of the cargo from the latter. 



344 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

The two other principal ports used were Baltimore and Philadelphia, 
while smaller shipments were made from New Orleans, Charleston, 
Jacksonville, and Boston. 

The army shipped cargo through the port of New York during the 
fall of 1918 at the rate of 400,000 tons a month, and did this with an 
average detention in port for the large army cargo transports of only 
fifteen days. To care for the troop movement through New York 
tw^o camps of embarkation were established — Camp Merritt, com- 
pleted in the fall of 191 7 at Tenafly, New Jersey, and Camp Mills, on 
Long Island, put in service in September, 191 7. Each of these camps 
had a capacity of 40,000 men. Space for 20,000 was later provided 
at Camp Upton on Long Island. During the fall of 1918 the port of 
Newport News was developed to a point such that cargo to the extent 
of 1 50,000 tons a month and animals to the number of 20,000 a month 
were shipped through it. At Baltimore and Philadelphia, during the 
fall of 1918, each of these ports handled 80,000 tons of freight a month. 

Troop Movement 

Movement of troops overseas began, at the earnest solicitation of 
our co-belligerents, very soon after our entrance into the war. May, 
our first month in the war, saw the dispatch abroad of selected per- 
sonnel to the number of 1,718. In June 12,261 troops and 2,798 
marines were embarked. By the end of the year, as the former Ger- 
man liners came into service, embarkation increased to a rate of 50,000 
a month. By the end of December 187,916 troops and 7,579 marines 
had been embarked. 

At this point negotiations were entered into with the British Gov- 
ernment by which three of its big fast liners and four smaller troop 
ships were definitely assigned to the service of our army. In March 
the movement jumped to 83,782 troops and 1,081 marines. It was in 
this month that the great German spring drive took place in Picardy, 
with a success that threatened to result in a German victory. Every 
ship that could be secured was pressed into service, and the aid fur- 
nished by the British was greatly increased. It was then that the trans- 
port miracle took place. In April 117,205 troops and 1,432 marines 
were embarked; in May 244,344 troops and 1,606 marines; and in 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 345 

June the numbers were 277,973 and 'jyy. Before the. first of July 
1,000,000 men had been embarked. 

The July record exceeded all expectations, the number of troops 
embarked being 306,185, and before the end of October the second 
million men had sailed from our shores. During the three months, 
June, July, and August, 875,753 men were embarked. When the 
armistice was signed the total embarkations amounted to 2,045,169 
troops and 30,665 marines. 

No troop movement such as that of the summer of 1918 had ever 
been contemplated, and no other movement of any such number of 
people by water such a distance and in such a time has ever occurred. 
The performance stands unique in the world's history. Furthermore, 
this performance wrought a decisive efifect upon the world's history at 
one of its great critical junctures. 

Credit for this movement must be shared with the Allies, and with 
the British in particular, since approximately half of the troops were 
carried in their ships. At the same time it must be recognized that 
under the pressure of the critical situation on the western front ways 
were found to increase the loading of our own transports by as much 
as fifty per cent, and that our transports exceeded those of the Allies 
both in the extent to which they were loaded and in the speed of their 
turn-around. Too high praise cannot be given our navy, which armed, 
manned, and convoyed the troopships, for its efficient cooperation. 

Sleeping on Wave Washed Decks 
Written by Private Eskil M. Westlin. 

It didn't require a tonsorial artist to get us in shape to go overseas. 
xA.t Camp Merritt we spent most of a night waiting for our turn at the 
clippers, where the operators took turns at manipulating the tool and 
at turning the handle for power. 

Orders to march to dock arrived at 2 a.m. It was a long, hard march 
and in spite of threats of court martial some of the men fell out along 
the way, to be picked up by trucks which would come after.. Though 
tired and hungry we boarded the ferry boat about 6:30 without any 
breakfast and did not have anything to eat until the Red Cross served 
us just before going onto the transport at 11:30. Their coffee and 
sandwiches tasted wonderfully good. When, because of crowded con- 
dition on the Plattsburg, we were assigned to quarters on deck we felt 



346 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

that"we were pretty lucky, but we changed our minds about mid-ocean. 
We were struck by a storm which lasted three days. The first night 
a buddie and myself were laying on deck when it was impossible to 
sleep for the roar of the water. Finally the old ship stuck her nose 
under a big wave, the water from which washed down with terrific 
force and speed, and though we got to our feet our equipment was 
soaking wet. The next night, while lying in about the same position, 
with slickers on and wearing life preservers for pillows, sleep out of 
the question, we were again swept by a wave which soaked us through 
and through. We then went below to lie down in water soaked cloth- 
ing in the corridors between state rooms, and from sheer exhaustion 
slept well even if the crew did walk over us all night. Next morning 
it was so rough the stewards could not serve any breakfast; it was 
almost impossible to get the chow from the kitchen to the mess hall. 
They did manage to get up a couple of barrels of apples, which were all 
we had to eat until supper time. Two meals a day was the schedule 
on ship board. 

We were denied the consolation of tobacco, for we had not been 
permitted to go to the canteen before sailing, and it was difficult to get 
it on deck. The ship's store seemed to be for the accommodation of 
crew and officers only. A requisition made by our supply sergeant 
was filled just a short time before we landed. After our experience on 
deck we found it agreeable to be assigned to quarters below the water 
line, though it was hot there. A few days before we landed, and when 
reaching the danger zone, the convoy was met by sub-chasers, which 
bobbed about in the rough waters so much that their masts were just 
discernible above the waves. In the night our convoy was split up, 
some going to England and some to Brest, France. The rest camp 
to which we went was in a low place and was surrounded by a fence 
built of earth. Though our company had never seen a pup tent pitched 
we were ordered to pitch ours when it began to rain, and we got them 
together in irregular shape. Half a cup of cofifee, a small slice of 
bread, and a slice of bacon constituted our breakfast the next morning 
while preparations were being made for more complete cooking. Some 
of us who were detailed to handle baggage at the docks slept one night 
in the big shed, and the next morning staggered around as badly as 
though we were still on deck. 

Cargo Movement 

Altogether from our entrance into the war until the signing of the 
armistice the army shipped from this side of the Atlantic 5,153,000 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 347 

tons of cargo. Unlike the case with regard to the troop movement, 
this cargo was carried ahiiost entirely in American bottoms, and less 
than five per cent was lifted by foreign ships. Of all the cargo shipped, 
only 79,000 tons were lost at sea. 

Included in the cargo shipment were 1,145 consolidation locomo- 
tives of the 100-ton type. Of, these 350 were shipped set up on their 
own wheels so that they could be unloaded onto the tracks in France 
and run ofif in a few hours under their own steam. Shipment of set-up 
locomotives of this size had never been made before. Special ships 
with large hatches were withdrawn from the Cuban ore trade for the 
purpose, and the hatches of other ships were especially lengthened, so 
that when the armistice was signed the army was prepared to ship 
these set-up locomotives at the rate of 200 a month. 

The army also shipped 17,000 standard-gauge freight cars, and at 
the termination of hostilities were preparing to ship flat cars set up and 
ready to run. Motor trucks to the number of 34,433 went forward, 
and when fighting ceased were being shipped at the rate of 10,000 a 
month. Rails and fittings for the reenforcing of French railways and 
for the construction of our own lines of communication aggregated 
423,000 tons. In addition to the tons of cargo mentioned above the 
army shipped 54,000 horses and mules, and at the cessation of hostili- 
ties was shipping them at the rate of 20,000 a month. The increase in 
the shipment of cargo from the United States was consistently main- 
tained from the start of the war, and at its cessation was tmdergoing 
marked acceleration. Aside from the cargo shipped across the Atlan- 
tic General Pershing imported large amounts from European sources, 
the chief item being coal from England. In October he brought into 
France by means of his cross-channel fleet a total of 275,000 tons of 
coal and other commodities. 

Growth of Army Transport Fleet 
The task laid upon the army of creating a great transport fleet at a 
time when the world was experiencing its most acute tonnage shortage 
was a heavy one. At the outbreak of the war a start was made at once 
by chartering a few of the American merchant steamers immediately 
at hand, and at the end of June there were in service seven troop ships 



348 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

with deadweight of 46,000 tons and six cargo ships with deadweight of 
48,000 tons. From these small beginnings there was developed a great 
trans-Atlantic fleet which on November i, 1918, included thirty-nine 
troop ships of 390,198 tons, thirty-eight animal transports of 372,011 
tons, four tankers of 31,271 tons, and 228 cargo ships of 1,807,336 tons. 
In addition General Pershing had gathered a cross-channel fleet which 
numbered 104 vessels and aggregated 311,087 tons. Accordingly the 
army had in service on November i, 1918, a fleet of its own amounting 
to 431 ships and totalling 3,004,445 deadweight tons. At this time it 
also had definitely assigned to it sixteen allied troop ships approximat- 
ing 150,000 deadweight tons and 160,000 tons of loaned British cargo 
ships. On November 13th, two days after the signing of the armistice, 
the army had American shipping either in operation or under definite 
allocation totalling 3,800,000 deadweight tons, a fleet over twice as 
large as the entire American merchant marine engaged in foreign trade 
at the start of the war. 

In building up this fleet the first great increment, especially in the 
matter of troop transports, was the seized German vessels. These 
ships came into service during the fall of 19 17 and accounted for ap- 
proximately 460,000 tons. In the spring of 1918 the taking over of the 
Dutch steamers gave the army the use of another 300,000 tons. The 
chartering of Scandinavian and Japanese tonnage during 1918, which 
relieved the whole tonnage position of our country, also was reflected 
in the growth of the army fleet. The War Trade Bureau, by drastic 
restrictions of non-essential imports made possible the release of large 
amounts of shipping from the import trades. 

During the whole period of active hostilities the army lost at sea 
only 200,000 deadweight tons of transports. Of this total 142,000 
tons were sunk by torpedoes. No American troop transport was lost 
on its eastward voyage. For this splendid record the navy, which 
arranged the convoy system, deserves the highest commendation. 

Our troop ship fleet, including the slower vessels, averaged 
under forty days for a complete turn-around or cycle. The faster 
ships averaged under thirty days. During the summer the Leviathan 
transported troops at the rate of over 400 a day, at which rate she 
landed the equivalent of a German division in France each month. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 349 

Two American ships, the Great Northern and Northern Pacific, have 
each made a turn-around in rjineteen days. 

French Ports 

At the cessation of hostihties the army was using twelve French 
ports with a permanent assignment of seventy berths, and was dis- 
charging supplies at the rate of 1,000,000 a month, a rate exceeding 
that maintained by the British during the period of their operations in 
France. The work of the army engineers in building up in a foreign 
country, 3,000 miles removed by sea from their base, such a colossal 
port service in so short a time must rank among the greatest achieve- 
ments of the war. 

Situation at the Cessation of Hostilities 

When the armistice was signed, the army's shipping position was 
strong and was increasing in proportion to the demands of its great 
program. Over 3,000,000 deadweight tons of American shipping were 
actually in its service and 800,000 more were allocated to enter its 
service. Additional tonnage was being delivered to it at the rate of a 
half million tons a month. While for the moment its own shipping 
was still somewhat behind requirements, a temporary loan of British 
tonnage had been arranged for, and the increase in our own ship build- 
ing promised the return of this loan before spring and the repayment 
of it before the end of the following summer. 

At the time hostilities ceased the supply of cargo at ports was ade- 
quate, the performances of the transports were at a high point of 
efficiency, and the French ports were proving equal to the burdens laid 
upon them. With the decreasing submarine menace and the increas- 
ing shipbuilding, good reason existed for confidence with respect to the 
army's abiHty to carry out the shipping requirements of the great 
Eightieth Division program. The whole record of the army shipping 
organization was the cooperative efifort of the embarkation service, the 
shipping control committee, the French port organization, and the 
cooperating branches of the navy, which made possible our efifective 
and decisive participation in the war. After the armistice was signed 
every ship was withdrawn from the service as soon as it could be 



350 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

spared and put back into trades or the carrying of foods for relief work 
in Europe. 

Hoffman's Stormy Trip 

Sam L. Hofifman tells a story of a trip overseas that involves con- 
flicting orders, a fight against the influenza which grew rampant among 
the men, fear of a court-martial, and the loss of men overboard because 
their hob-nailed shoes could not hold a footing on deck when high seas 
were running. 

Hofifman enlisted in the first officers' training camp at Fort Snell- 
ing, Minnesota, May 15, 191 7, expecting to be assigned to an engi- 
neers' company. He was kept in suspense on this point for a few days, 
but was finally placed in the group of his choice. He finished his train- 
ing course at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, then went to Camp Cody at 
Deming, New Mexico, for nearly a year. With two other members of his 
company he was then assigned to take a month's course of study in the 
use of the new government rifle, at Camp Perry, Ohio. Upon return to 
his regiment at Camp Cody, he was given command of the engineer 
group of the Pioneer Infantry and was directed to equip them for over- 
seas service. Soon after getting everything assembled he was ordered 
to turn everything in. Almost a wreck from working without sleep, 
he was subjected three times to the need of drawing and then turning 
in the company equipment before final orders were received for sailing 
on H. M. S. Celtic, on what Hofifman describes as probably "the most 
hellish trip" which a ship ever made : 

There were thirteen ships in the convoy, six troop ships, five torpedo 
boat destroyers, and two battleship cruisers. The first day out all 
hands were kept below decks on account of a submarine which was 
chasing us and which had shot a hole in a small vessel that we passed 
in coming out of the harbor. It was so hot below decks that our men 
nearly suffocated, but the regulations would not permit of opening the 
hatches. When orders were finally given to take the men on deck one 
hundred or more were discovered to be so sick they could not be moved. 
Fears that they were sea sick were removed the following day when the 
condition of the men was diagnosed as the influenza. Then began one 
of the most terrible experiences I had during the war ! 

I did what I could, with the assistance of a second lieutenant who 
was soon after taken ill. The accommodations for twelve men in the 
ship's hospital were soon filled, and after some delay officers located a 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 351 

place for a hospital that lacked in many ways of meeting the standards 
generally required for a hospital. Here fifty men were carried, nearly 
all on the verge of pneumonia. You can well imagine what the sani- 
tary conditions of this place were within a few days ! Because I tried 
to care for ten of the men in their bunks instead of sending them to 
this poor infirmary I was threatened with court martial by the chief 
medical officer, but was spared by the kindness of the colonel of our 
regiment. However, the men were all sent below, and the next morn- 
ing the first one of mine died. We buried twenty-two of them at sea, 
and left more than thirty at the hospital in Liverpool, where five died. 
One man was lost at sea on account of an inspection ordered to be 
held during rough weather while passing through the English Channel. 
The men, ordered on deck with full packs, were just as helpless on the 
steel decks with hob-nailed shoes on as if they had been wearing roller 
skates. When an unusually large sea hit us on one side and the ship 
heeled over on the other, five of the boys went skating down the deck 
like a shot, struck the section of rail that is taken out when baggage is 
being unloaded, carried it with them and went over the side. One of 
them went straight to the bottom, two were thrown back against the 
side of the ship where they could be rescued, and two were picked up 
by one of the destroyers to join the regiment three months later. Al- 
though our destination was Glasgow, the day before we were to make 
port we ran into a nest of subs and had to turn back. After fourteen 
days from New York we landed in Liverpool. 

Life in a Rest Camp 
A story of the trip to France is not complete without the experiences 
of the "rest camps" in England. Hofifman's impressions of them were 
not favorable in the light of the fact that they were gained during the 
time of a rain which began when he reached England and continued 
until he left there eight months later. Hofifman was left with a detail 
to unload the baggage from the ship, while the others went to the "rest 
camp" at Winchester. The baggage for 5,000 men and officers was 
unloaded in about twelve hours. He recounts an incident to show how 
accommodating an Englishman can be : 

I had tried all afternoon to learn from a young English captain in 
charge of transportation when my train would leave. The best he 
could tell me was that it would follow another train which was being 
loaded. Though we were nearly fagged, twenty-five of us responded 
to orders to assist in loading the other train. Imagine our surprise 
when coming back to the former location of our own train to find no 



352 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

train there. Of course I hailed the dapper young captain for informa- 
tion. "My word, old chap, your train has gone and left you," he ex- 
plained, without amazement. I was scared for a minute but it did not 
seem to bother this Englishman, for he quietly went over to a telephone 
on a post, called up some one, and in about twenty minutes here came 
my train back. It did not seem to be any trouble to have a train that 
was out in the country fifteen or twenty miles stop and come back. 

Any man who was over there can tell you what a "rest camp" is. 
An Iowa hog-yard in March is a fair comparison. After a week here 
we shipped to Manchester by train, then across the Channel to Cher- 
bourg, France, and from there marched seven miles to another "rest 
camp," where most of the men had the "flu." In the morning we 
marched back to Cherbourg, there to embark on a journey destined to 
consume three days and nights, which one of our trains could have 
covered in five hours. We landed at Mesves hospital center, where 
they were trying to finish the hospital for the accommodation of 15,000 
sick and wounded, returned from field hospitals, who were being shel- 
tered in tents and wooden buildings. 

I was assigned the duty of building some narrow gauge railroad and 
some wagon roads through this mud-hole. It was a job that some 
one else was doing when I left France and it looked about the same as 
when we started it. There is no bottom to anything in this country. 
Car loads of stone dumped on the roads disappear as though they had 
been dumped in a well. We were not detained on this assignment long, 
for on the second day we were ordered to report to headquarters of 
the Second Army, which took us to the front where we would see the 
big show. Enroute we had the first glimpse of war, for Big Bertha, 
the long range gun of the Boche, had left her mark in several places. 

Incidents of the Soldier's Life 
Written by Conrad H. Anderson, private Company D, Three Hun- 
dred and Sixteenth Infantry, Seventy-ninth Division : 

I do not know if you think it is great or not to be in the army. Few 
who are in it do; one feels just like a cog in a machine — no chance to 
exercise the free will we are wont to boast of. When ordered out of 
Camp Merritt we hiked six miles to the debarkation point on the Hud- 
son River. We would have enjoyed the subsequent journey down the 
river more if we had not been soaked through by a heavy rain on our 
hike. And then, of course, we felt that we had possibly stepped on our 
dear American soil for the last time. This was the 29th of August, 
five weeks after we left Storm Lake. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 353 

One order from our commanding- officer which seemed ridiculous 
required us to carry two boxes of hard tack, part of our reserve ration, 
in the hfe preservers which we wore all the time. The order was, how- 
ever, revoked by the time our hard tack boxes were worn out carrying 
them around. There is something majestic about traveling on the 
ocean. The afternoon we landed at Brest we marched through the 
city. We seemed to read an expression of welcome on the faces of the 
old people, while the children were running along with us, peddling 
nuts and begging pennies and cigarets. After dark we marched to the 
barracks where Napoleon trained his soldiers. 

I feel that the officers and non-commissioned officers at this place 
deserve special credit for the manly way we were treated. And their 
ability to train soldiers far surpassed that of the officers in the States. 
Probably one reason for this was that these men felt that they were 
closer to the war and the real danger, hence had less of that proud and 
haughty spirit and a keener desire to use their energies in the work 
which counts in military life. 

On Sunday afternoon some of us boys were roaming through a 
Catholic cemetery where, among other things, there were caves and 
statues representing Calvary and the crucifixion. This was very im- 
pressive and to me was the most profitable Sunday I spent in France. 
I did not have the opportunity to attend any real religious services 
while there. 

On Monday night, October 7th, we moved by train to Verdun. The 
city was under bombardment that night by the big German guns, so 
our arrival was by no means pleasant. We sought refuge behind an 
embankment outside the city until daylight. This was the first time 
we heard the cannon and saw the flash of fire at the front. Seeing 
this at a distance and hearing the thundering of the cannon reminds 
one very much of a thunder storm although this really seems to come 
from the very depth of Hell, and any one who has ever been at the front 
feels that it could not be worse if it really did. After we left the box 
cars it was reported that they were hit by a shell and destroyed. On 
the 25th of October, we left this place and joined our companies in the 
Three Hundred and Sixteenth Infantry. 

During the short time I was at the front the woods changed in 
appearance very much, due to the destruction of trees and brush by 
enemy shells. It is deplorable to see the devastated country over which 
the war has raged. As you see small villages with only a wall stand- 
ing here and there you think of the family ties broken and their homes 
destroyed. 



354 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

After being wounded on the 3d of November, I gradually worked 
my way to a first-aid station. 

From there I went to the next dressing-station, where I was told to 
continue and walk as far as I could ; so I did, although it was difficult 
to walk on my sore foot. But stretcher bearers were scarce and every 
one who was able had to walk. Having walked two or three miles, 
and seeing several dead men and horses along the road, I finally got a 
ride on the running-board of a crowded ambulance to a field hospital, 
where we were served hot cocoa and sandwiches by the Red Cross. 
From there I rode on a big army truck about fifteen miles to a hospital, 
but as it was crowded the less serious cases were taken on further after 
our wounds had been re-dressed. Then I went twenty miles to another 
hospital, where I was operated upon at midnight. Then I was taken 
to Hospital No. 53, and there had time to reflect upon how fortunate I 
was to escape with my life. About Thanksgiving I was removed to a 
hospital at Brest. Brest is noted for its almost daily rainfall and the 
consequent mud. The nurses had to wear rubber boots going between 
the different barracks and wards. 

Christmas was not the most pleasant. But one thing which added 
some charm to Christmas Eve was the singing of carols by a few nurses 
and some men who visited the different wards. The rest of the evening 
I had to spend listening to the profanity and impurity of heart of some 
wounded soldiers. 

I had a feeling of deep gratitude that I had the privilege of returning 
to our dear America possessing all my limbs, while I saw many less 
fortunate cripples around me, and thought of the many who had made 
the supreme sacrifice for the cause of civilization over in France. 

The Problem op Purchase 

In the spring of 19 17 there were in the United States some 4,000,000 
young men who were about to become soldiers, although they little 
suspected the fact. Before they entered the army, as well as after they 
were in it, these men consumed such ordinary necessities of life as food, 
coats, trousers, socks, shoes, and blankets. 

These simple facts lead directly to the mistaken conclusion that the 
problem of supplying the necessities of life for the soldiers in the army 
was the comparatively simple one of diverting into the camps sub- 
stantially the same amounts of food and clothing as these young men 
would have used in their homes if there had been no war. 

These men constituted about one twenty-fifth of the population of the 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 355 

country and undoubtedly consumed before the war more than one 
twenty-fifth of the food and clothing used in the United States. But 
after every possible allowance has been made for the requirements of 
youth and the wastefulness of war, the figures of army purchases still 
present surprising contrasts with those of civilian use in normal times. 
The army purchases of blankets in 1918 were two and one-quarter 
times as great as the entire American production in 191 4. The rea- 
sons for the enormous figures of army purchases are not far to seek. 
In the first place, men who went to camp received complete equipment 
of new articles, whereas ordinary production in peace time goes 
mainly to replace articles that have been worn out. In the second 
place, the supplies required for an army increase in proportion to the 
distance that separates the army from its home base. In the third 
place, the consumption in action is three or four times the peace rate. 

The stream of supplies going forward to an army may be likened to 
the water delivered against a fire by an old-fashioned bucket brigade. 
For every pailful thrown on the fire there must be many that have been 
taken from the source of supply and are on the way. As the distance 
from the source increases this supply in transit constantly grows. 
When an army is 3,000 or 4,000 miles from its sources of supply the 
amounts of supplies in reserve and in transit are enormous as compared 
with the quantities consumed each month. 

The rule generally followed for clothing was that there should be 
for each man at the front a three months' reserve in France, another 
two or three months' reserve in the United States, and a third three 
months' supply continuously in transit. Wool coats, for example, last 
about three months in active service. Hence for every coat on a man's 
back at the front there had to be a coat in reserve in France, a coat in 
transit, and a coat in reserve in the United States. 

The same thing was true for other supplies and munitions. The 
need for reserves and the time required for transportation called for 
the supply of enormous quantities and called for it at once. The immedi- 
ate needs for each man sent forward were in fact far in excess of the 
later requirements. For munitions difficult to manufacture, such as 
artillery and ammunition, the problem presented by this necessity for 
reserves and large amounts in transit, in addition to the actual equip- 



356 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

ment of troops, was almost insuperable. The initial need is so great in 
a situation of this character that it can only be met in one of two ways ; 
either by having the initial equipment available at the outbreak of war, 
or by immediately securing such an enormous productive capacity that 
it is larger than is required for maintaining the establishment later. 

In supplying food and clothing and other articles which are matters 
of common commercial production, the problem was not as difficult as 
with ordnance, but the large needs for initial equipment did put an 
enormous strain upon the industries concerned. All the more common 
garments needed could be made in ordinary commercial factories, but 
their quantit)^ was so enormous that at a number of times during the 
war it was feared that the demand would run ahead of the supply. 
When the troop movement was speeded up in the spring of 191 8 the 
margin on woolen clothing was dangerously narrow. To secure these 
and other articles in sufficient quantity it was found necessary in many 
cases for the army to take control of all stages of the manufacturing 
process, from assembling the raw material to inspecting the finished 
product. For many months preceding the armistice the War Depart- 
ment was owner of all the wool in the country. The British army 
had in a similar way some years before taken control of the English 
wool supply in order to meet army and navy needs. 

Something the same story might be told for about 30,000 kinds of 
commercial articles which the army purchased. Purchases included 
food, forage, hardware, coal, furniture, wagons, motor trucks, lumber, 
locomotives, cars, machinery, medical instruments, hand tools, machine 
tools. In one way or another the army at war drew upon almost every 
one of the 344 industries recognized by the United States census. In 
all of them an enormous production was required. In the cases of some 
articles all the difficulties of quantity production were combined with 
the problems of making something not before manufactured. Typical 
instances are the 5,400,000 gas masks and the 2,728,000 steel helmets 
produced before the end of November, 1918. 

Machinery of Distribution 
For those supplies that are to a certain degree articles of commercial 
manufacture, the problem of distribution was fully as difficult as pro- 
curement. For production, machinery already in existence could be 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 357 

utilized; for distribution, a new organization was necessary. In this 
country the problem was not hard for there were ample railway facili- 
ties; an abundance of motor transportation could be requisitioned if 
necessary; and the troops were near the sources. In France, a com- 
plete new organization was necessary whose main duty it was to dis- 
tribute munitions and supplies.' It was called the Service of Supplies, 
and had its headquarters at Tours. It was an army behind the army. 
On the day the armistice was signed, there were reporting to the com- 
manding general of the Service of Supply, 386,000 soldiers besides 
31,000 German prisoners, and thousands of civilian laborers furnished 
by the Allies. At the same time there were in the zone of the armies 
160,000 noncombatant troops, the majority of whom were keeping in 
operation the lines of distribution of supplies to the troops at the front. 
The proportion of noncombatants in the American army never fell 
below twenty-eight per cent. In the British army it often ran higher. 
Distributing supplies to the American forces in France was in the 
first place a problem of ports, second a problem of railroads, third a 
problem of motor and horse-drawn transportation, and fourth a prob- 
lem of storage. The ports and railroads of France were crowded with 
war traffic and fallen into disrepair. American engineers added eigh- 
ty-three new berths to the existing ports, together with warehouses 
and dock equipment. It was not necessary to build new railroads, for 
France already had a railway net denser per square mile than that of 
the United States, but it was desirable to increase the carrying capacity 
by nearly 1,000 miles of new trackage, and by switching facilities at 
crucial points, by new repair shops and round-houses and by new 
rolling stock. These things were done by the engineers. The prob- 
lems were not wholly solved. There were never wholly adequate rail- 
way facilities, but with the help of locomotives and freight cars shipped 
from this side freight was carried inland about as fast as it was landed. 

Narrow-Gauge Railways and Motor Trucks 

Railroads carried American supplies from the ports in France to 
intermediate or advance depots, but beyond a certain distance the stan- 
dard-gauge railroad did not go, as for instance where the danger of 
shelling began or where the needs changed rapidly as the battle activity 



358 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

shifted. Then came the narrow-gauge railroad, with rails about two 
feet apart. American engineers built 538 miles of these roads, for 
which 406 narrow-gauge locomotives and 2,385 narrow-gauge cars 
were shipped from this country. 

Beyond the range of the narrow-gauge railway came the motor truck. 
The truck could go over roads that were under shell fire. It could 
retire with the army or push forward with advancing troops. Trucks 
were used on a larger scale in this war than was ever before thought 
possible. The American infantry division on the march with the 
trucks, wagons, and ambulances of its supply, ammunition, ' and 
sanitary trains stretched for a distance of thirty miles along the road. 
The need for trucks increased as trench warfare gave place to a war 
of movement. The number of trucks sent overseas prior to the armis- 
tice was 40,000 and of these 33,000 had been received in France. They 
ranged in size from three-quarters of a ton to five tons. 

Beyond the range of the motor truck the horse and wagon were the 
means of supply distribution. The shipment of animals overseas was 
discontinued early in 1918 on the information that horses could be 
purchased overseas. Then in the fall when every ton of shipping was 
precious, the supply of foreign horses proved inadequate and twenty- 
three of the best of the army's cargo vessels had to be converted to 
animal transports. About 500 horses and mules were embarked in 
September and 17,000 in October. The shipments could not, however, 
be started soon enough to prevent a shortage. A horse uses as much 
ship space as ten tons of cargo. In general, it may be said that the 
army overseas never had enough means of transportation. It may 
also be said that they had very large quantities and that they produced 
remarkable results with the supply they had. 

Forty-Seven Thousand Telegrams a Day 

In order to operate the transportation of supplies in France, a new 
system of communication had to be set up. so the signal corps strung 
its wires over nearly every part of France. Miles upon miles of tele- 
graph lines were wholly constructed by Americans of wires strung on 
French poles. Others were leased from the French or taken over from 
the Germans. At the time of the signing of the armistice the signal 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 359 

corps was operating 282 telephone exchanges and 133 complete tele- 
graph stations. The telephone lines numbered 14,956, reaching 8,958 
stations. More than 100,000 miles of wire had been strung. The 
peak load of operation reached was 47,555 telegrams a day, averaging 
sixty words each. 

Construction in the United States 

To build factories and storage warehouses for supplies, as well as 
housing for troops, 200,000 workmen in the United States were kept 
continuously occupied for the period of the war. The force of workers 
on this single activity was larger than the total strength of both south- 
ern and northern armies in the battle of Gettysburg. The types of con- 
struction included cement piers and warehouses, equipment for proving 
grounds, plants for making powder and explosives, repair shops, power 
plants, roads, and housing for troops. Building was required in every 
state in the Union. The region of greatest activity was the northeast, 
at once the most densely populated section and the center of munitions 
production. 

Housing constructed had a capacity of 1,800,000 men, or more 
than the entire population of Philadelphia. The operations of the 
construction division constituted what was probably the largest con- 
tracting business ever handled in one office. 

The total expenditures in this enterprise to November 11, 1918, 
were, in round numbers, $800,000,000, or about twice the cost of the 
Panama Canal. The largest single item is the cost of National Army 
cantonments which was nearly one-quarter of the total. Ordnance 
department projects, including the building of enormous powder, high- 
explosive, and loading plants, come second. The costs of construc- 
tion were probably higher than they would have been for slower work. 
The outstanding feature of the accomplishment was its rapidity. Each 
of the cantonments was completed in substantially ninety days. It 
was this speed that made it possible to get the draft army under train- 
ing before the winter of 191 7 set in and made it available just in time 
for the critical action of the summer of 1918. 



36o HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Construction in the A. E. F. 
The conduct of the war in France necessitated a construction pro- 
gram comparable in magnitude and number of projects with that in 
the United States. Less new building was required for shelter and 
for the manufacture of munitions, but more for the development of 
port and railroad facilities and for the repair and operation of the 
complicated equipment of a modern army. The storage space con- 
structed in France was more than nine-tenths as large as the amount 
built at home. Hospital capacity constructed in France was twice 
the new capacity at home. The labor force consisted largely of Amer- 
ican soldiers and German prisoners, although French and English 
civilians and Chinese coolies were used wherever available. To econ- 
omize, tonnage materials were obtained in Europe as far as possible, 
sometimes at high prices. The engineer corps ran its own quarries 
and its own logging camps and sawmills. Only such materials as 
could not be obtained abroad — chiefly machinery and steel products 
— were purchased in the United States. 

Immense Building Project in France 
America heard much of the large buildings and increased trackage 
facilities which it was necessary to build in France to provide storage 
and transportation to meet the vast needs of the ever-increasing army 
as it was being assembled. A Buena Vista County man had part in 
this big task and the part in which he was engaged gives a compre- 
hensive idea of the character of the work that the army engineers did 
overseas. His notes begin at the early stages of his training experi- 
ence. Excerpts follow from private notes of Captain J. F. Reynolds 
of Storm Lake, Company A, Five Hundred and Fourth Engineers : 

After the preliminaries of training I reported at Camp Devens Sep- 
tember 6, 1 91 7, was assigned to the recruit company, under Captain 
D. G. Hatmaker, and spent most of my time drilling the new men who 
were arriving daily. On the 4th of October I was ordered to Camp 
Merritt to organize the Five Hundred and Fourth Engineer Battalion. 
We had with us fifty-eight enlisted men who were transferred from 
the Twenty-fifth Engineers to the Five Hundred and Fourth Engi- 
neers. I found myself on duty with Company A, with Warner I. Risley 
as captain and Charles H. Bade as second lieutenant. I was serving 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 361 

under a commission as first lieutenant. During the period of organ- 
ization, Captain Risley took care of the paper work, insurance, allot- 
ments, and the opening of all company records. Lieutenant Bade 
acted as mess officer, looking after the kitchen and feeding the men. 
My duty consisted of outfitting the men with individual equipment for 
overseas duty and drilling. 

When orders came to go overseas we went to Hoboken November 
19th, and until the 26th the whole battalion was engaged in censoring 
Christmas packages for the men overseas. The day before sailing, 
after all of Lieutenant Bade's personal baggage was on board ship, 
he received orders transferring him to the Three Htmdred and Third 
Engineers at Camp Dix. 

We debarked at St. Nazaire December 13th, and while we were at 
Camp No. i the men were detailed to unloading ships. Company A, 
of 250 men, was quartered in barracks without bunks or stoves, mak- 
ing it necessary for the men to sleep on the earth floor. As in addition 
to other discomforts the men were under quarantine most of the time, 
it was only natural that the question most frequently asked was, 
"Where do we go from here?" and the orders to move to Is-sur-Tille, 
Cote-d'Or, was heartily welcomed. 

Leaving St. Nazaire December 21st, Companies A and D reached 
a siding at Is-sur-Tille, a hundred yards from the barracks which they 
were to occupy, on the afternoon of the 23d. These barracks were of 
the same type as those at St. Nazaire, but were provided with stoves 
and wood bunks. The ground inside the barracks was frozen and the 
fires soon converted the frozen earth to sloppy mud. This mud, later 
in the spring, joined with the sea of mud that was everywhere outside, 
made it necessary to wear rubber boots inside the barracks as well as 
out. Cinders were used, but these soon became mixed with and lost 
in the mud. 

The East Depot at Is-sur-Tille was about twenty-five per cent com- 
plete at this time, the work having been done by the Sixteenth Engi- 
neers. For some time after arrival our men were detailed to and 
worked by the ofificers of the Sixteenth Engineers, assisted by the 
officers of the Five Hundred and Fourth Engineers-. The following 
from the history of the Five Hundred and Fourth Engineers gives a 
mental picture of what was found and what was done by the American 
engineer at Is-sur-Tille: 

"Like many other French railroad towns before the arrival of the 
Americans, Is-sur-Tille was a quiet valley village at the confluence of 
two little streams, hardly large enough to be called good creeks in 
America, but the French called them rivers and named them the Tille 



362 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

and the Ignon. The neighboring fields of this now well-known town 
of Is-sur-Tille were formerly used for raising hops, but after the com- 
ing of the Americans the French removed many thousands of their hop 
poles, and in a spirit of resignation to whatever might be in store for 
them turned their fields over to the American engineer to make of them 
whatever he deemed necessary for the inevitable triumph of the Allies 
over the despicable Hun. In less than six months from the day the 
first Americans arrived on the bank of these far distant tributaries of 
the Rhine River, there was created, as if by magic, one of the largest 
supply depots in France. 

"From this place of hubbub and smoke and seeming confusion went 
forward thousands of tons of every conceivable kind of army supplies 
to the American forces that were in operation against the enemy dur- 
ing the last and determining year of the war. 

"The engineer officer in charge of Is-sur-Tille employed every able- 
bodied man that was available. Besides American engineers there 
were hundreds of 'doughboys' and members of other branches of the 
service. There were in addition to these, Chinese, Spaniards, and 
German prisoners, both British and American captives, employed in 
the project." 

Continuing his notes, Captain Reynolds writes : 

The Sixteenth Engineers left Is-sur-Tille March 3, 1918. From 
December 23, 1917, to March i, 1918, Company A, Five Hundred and 
Fourth Engineers, had men working on all parts of the project. This 
work consists of grading, laying tracks, ballasting, excavating gravel, 
building warehouses, building barracks, operating trains, driving 
motor vehicles, driving teams, and assisting the quartermaster loading 
and unloading supplies. Early in January I was placed in charge of 
grading for tracks in the East open storage yard. In addition to detail 
from Company A, I also had men detailed to this work from various 
infantry companies. 

After the open storage yards were graded, I was placed on grading 
for the south hump of the French classification yard and filling for 
additional tracks on the east side of the same yard. An old German 
steam shovel, operating day and night, furnished the filling material. 
On this work I was usually on duty at night. 

Captain Graham of B Company, which had arrived at Is-sur-Tille 
a short time before, was placed in charge of all railroad construction 
on this project March i, iqi8. At the same time the West Depot 
was started, and Captain Graham placed Captain Breed directly in 
charge of all track construction in the West Yard, and myself in the 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 363 

same capacity in the East Yard. In addition to the East Yard, I was 
given charge of the German steam shovel, as it was then making a 
cut for trackage in the East Yard. It soon developed that a new spur 
track to the gravel pit was necessary, and as the trackage to the bakery 
came off this spur the construction of both was included in my terri- 
tory. A force of forty men grew to 200 by the first of May. 

As the East Yard grew in size the question of track maintenance 
became more pressing, and by the first of May I had four section 
gangs taking care of approximately fifty miles of track. 

On April 7th Company A moved from her muddy home in what was 
known as "The Flats" to more comfortable quarters on the hill, or to 
what was known as Camp Williams proper. The average number of 
men used daily on my work was: In May, 200; in June, 200; in July, 
130; in August, 850; in September, 700; in October, 910; and in the 
first fourteen days of November, 670. In 191 8, previous to November 
5th, those working under my direction constructed about fourteen and 
a half miles of track in Is-sur-Tille yards, ballasted the same amount, 
built about 120 switches, both French and American, and made many 
changes in existing trackage necessitated by the growth of the project. 

During the greater part of the summer of 1918 a two and one-half 
yard steam shovel of German make was working under my direction. 
In July this shovel was put to work excavating solid rock. A gang 
of thirty-five to fifty Spaniards drilled and blasted ahead of the shovel. 
As the German shovel was proving too light for this work, a Bucyrus- 
70 was put in and for a time worked on the same job. Later the Ger- 
man shovel was removed and the task was finished by the Bucyrus. 
The leveling up was done and the old corners excavated by a gang" 
of German prisoners. In all 2,800 cubic yards of rock was excavated. 
No complete record was kept of the earth yardage moved. The Bucy- 
rus steam shovel was moved from the rock-cut to the gravel-pit on 
September 27, 1918. After this date it was operated by Captain Hat- 
maker's men on gravel excavation. 

On the 14th of November I was ordered to take charge of the water 
supply for the Is-sur-Tille project. I found two pumping stations, 
many miles of pipe from three-fourths inch to eight inches, and two 
reservoirs with a combined capacity of 125,000 gallons. One pump- 
ing station was equipped with two eight-horse power gasoline engines 
and two triplex pumps. The other had two steam boilers and two 
9x1 0x83^4 duplex pumps. The pumping capacity of both plants was 
900,000 gallons a daj^ and the consumption was about the same. 

When one pump failed to operate there would be a shortage of 
water. To do away with this trouble, I installed a third duplex steam 



364 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

pump in one plant; and, one engine and pump in the other station 
being worn out, installed a complete unit in the gasoline station. This 
provided five pumps, and I attempted to keep four of the five running 
twenty-four hours a day. This gave sufficient water until the con- 
sumption increased, when it became necessary to get more pumps in 
operation. This was due to increased railroad operation and water 
service extensions. Two pumps, installed in the bakery power-house, 
were brought into use and operated part of the time. 

During this time a bath-house, consisting of forty showers, was 
installed in the old rest camp. The water was heated by a 25-horse 
power steam boiler used as a hot water heater. To prevent steam 
generating and the boiler burning out, an overhead open tank was 
connected to the steam dome. 

A new rest camp was built, consisting of two bath houses with fifty- 
six showers each. Water for these was heated by a 70-horse power 
steam boiler and had two 5,000-gallon overhead open tanks. By using 
the low pressure for the hot water to the showers and a high pressure 
for the cold, it was possible to install a mixing chamber. The mixing 
chamber consisted of a piece of 8-inch pipe seven feet long in the hot 
water line. The cold water was tapped into one end of this with a 
one-inch pipe, and a thermometer was tapped into the other end. The 
mixing valve and the valve operating the showers being close together, 
it was possible to operate one bath house as a unit. Then in permitting 
a great number of men to bathe, they would fill the bath room, the 
operator would turn on the water properly mixed for b,athing for a 
short time. Then he would turn the water ofif while the men were 
soaping and scrubbing; then turn it on again for a good rinse. As 
soon as this group of men could get out the system would be ready for 
the next bunch. 

The first of March, 1919, I was relieved from water supply as I 
was going on leave to Ireland. 

Description of Advance Depot No. i 

Captain Reynolds furnished for the history the following facts and 
figures concerning the equipment and accommodations at Is-sur-Tille : 

This depot is located on the East Railway near the village of Is-sur- 
Tille, Cote-d'Or, and is a large distributing point furnishing supplies 
for about a million troops. Work was begun on East Yard and camp 
about September 20, 1917. 

It is divided into four distinct projects, comprising the East Yard, 
West Yard, Bakery, and Camp Williams. The East Yard includes 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 365 

all trackage and warehouses east of the Is-sur-Tille-Chatillon branch 
of the East Railway; the West Yard is that on the west side; and Camp 
Williams includes all barracks, headquarters, and other buildings for 
care of troops. 

East Yard has a total of fifty-nine miles of track and twenty ware- 
houses, nineteen of which are 50x500 feet, one- 50x504 feet, and two 
steel buildings 240x500 feet, besides numerous smaller buildings for 
offices, etc. This yard is used as quartermaster depot and ordnance 
depot. The quartermaster depot has 475,000 square feet of covered 
storage and 1,754,794 square feet of open storage. Ordnance depot 
has 240,000 square feet of covered storage and 175,000 square feet of 
open storage. 

The West Yard consists of thirty miles of track and twenty-six 
warehouses, seventeen of which are 50x504 feet, eight are 50x405 
feet and one is 60x400 feet, besides numerous small buildings in use 
as ofifices. The open storage in this yard is 5,000,000 square feet. 
The various depots housed are : 

Air Service 70,700 square feet 

Engineer igo,6oo square feet 

Medical 141,400 square feet 

Signal Corps 95-900 square feet 

The bakery consists of three main buildings — two 240x380 feet, 
and one 55x125 feet. The latter is the power-house. The buildings 
are one-story steel, with corrugated iron sides and roof. They are 
completely equipped with modern mechanical bakery machinery, elec- 
trically driven, and with patent ovens; capacity, 500,000 loaves of 
bread per day of twenty-four hours. The power-house equipment 
consists of two 330-horse power Thompson vertical water tube boilers, 
designed for a working pressure of 200 pounds and super-heat of 250 
pounds, two tube alternators of 500 K.W. capacity, together with 
condensers and other auxiliary machinery, including three-phase trans- 
former to ultimately take care of all power and lighting in yard and 
camp. 

Camp Williams has 154,000 feet of barracks, fifty-one 125-foot bar- 
racks, and it houses 15,900 troops. There are quarters for 532 officers 
near headquarters, as well as four buildings for training ordnance 
troops. 

The project is completely equipped with electric lights and water. 
Water is secured from the Tille River and is chlorined before entering 
the mains. Light is furnished by two power houses equipped with 
iio-volt direct current gas engine diesel sets. 



366 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Up to the signing- of the armistice construction projects had been 
undertaken by the corps of engineers to the number of 831. The 
A. E. F. left its trail in the shape of more or less permanent improve- 
ments over the greater part of France. The projects cluster most 
thickly around the ports used by American forces and the American 
area on the southern end of the battle line. 

Food and Clothing at the Front 

The real test of the efficiency of the supply service comes when an 
army engages in battle. Measured by that test the work of feeding, 
clothing, and equipping the American army was well done, for, in the 
main, the expeditionary forces received what they needed. At no 
time was there a shortage of food in the expeditionary forces. Sol- 
diers sometimes went hungry in this as in all other wars, but the con- 
dition was local and temporary. It occurred because of transportation 
difficulties during periods of actual fighting or rapid movement when 
the units outran their rolling kitchens. The stocks of food on hand 
in depots in France were always adequate. 

During the winter and summer of 1918 the amounts on hand rose 
steadily. On May ist, about the time when American troops were 
entering active fighting for the first time, they were well over the 
forty-five-day line, which was considered the required reserve during 
the latter months of the war. 

In the matter of clothing also, the supply services rose to the emer- 
gency of combat. There were periods in the history of many individual 
units when needed supplies could not be immediately obtained but, as 
in the case of food, the difficulty was one of local transportation. The 
records of the quartermaster show that during the six months of hard 
fighting, from June to November, the enlisted men in the A. E. F. 
received on the average: 

Slicker and overcoat, every five months. 

Blanket, flannel shirt and breeches, every two months. 

Coat, every seventy-nine days. 

Shoes and puttees, every fifty-one days. 

Drawers and undershirt, every thirty-three days. 

Woolen socks, every twenty-three days. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 367 

Rifles 

During the years immediately preceding our entrance into the war 
there was much discussion within the War Department, as well as in 
the country at large, of the need for increased military preparedness. 
It was agreed that the army that would have to he called into the field 
in any large emergency was one of 500,000 men. While our available 
resources in trained men, in airplanes and in machine guns were en- 
tirely inadequate, our reserve stocks of rifles and small arms ammuni- 
tion were sufficient for even a larger army than the half million sug- 
gested. 

On the outbreak of hostilities there were on hand nearly 600,000 
Springfield rifles of the model of 1903, probably the best infantry rifle 
in use in any army. What no one foresaw was that we should be 
called upon to equip an army of nearly 4,000,000 men in addition to 
furnishing rifles for the use of the navy. 

The emergency was met in several diflferent ways. The available 
Springfields were used to equip the Regular Army and National Guard 
divisions that were first organized. In addition to these rifles we also 
had in stock some 200,000 Krag-Jorgensen rifles that had been stored 
for an emergency and were in sufficiently good condition to be used 
for training purposes. In addition, efiforts were made to speed up the 
manufacture of new Springfields. 

It was soon found, however, that manufacturing difficulties would 
make it impossible to increase the output of Springfields to much 
beyond 1,000 per day, which was clearly insufficient. At this juncture 
decision was reached to undertake the manufacture of an entirely new 
rifle to meet the deficiency. 

Fortunately, there were in this country several plants which were 
just completing large orders for the Enfield rifle for the British Gov- 
ernment. A new rifle — the model 1917 — was accordingly designed. 
This rifle resembled the British Enfield sufficiently so that the plants 
equipped for Enfield production could be rapidly converted to its man- 
ufacture, but it was chambered to use the same ammunition as is used 
in the Springfield and in the machine guns and automatic rifles of 
American manufacture. 

Beginning with slightly less than 600,000 Springfields at the out- 



368 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

break of the war, the total at the end of the war had increased to nearly 
900,000. The Enfields first came into production in August, 191 7. 
After their manufacture had actually begun the output increased rapid- 
ly until it totaled at the end of the war, in November, 1918, nearly 
2,300,000. 

During the entire period the production of spare parts for the 
Springfield rifles was continued at an increased rate. The first divi- 
sions sent to France were equipped with this rifle. It is a fact that 
about half the rifle ammunition used against the enemy by United 
States troops was shot from Springfield rifles. The test of battle use 
has upheld the high reputation of the Springfield, and has demon- 
strated that the American Enfield is also a weapon of superior quality. 
The American troops were armed with rifles that were superior in 
accuracy and rapidity of fire to those used by either their enemies or 
the Allies. 

The use of machine guns on a large scale is a development of the 
European war. This is demonstrated by the records of every army. 
In the case of the American forces the figures are particularly impres- 
sive. In 1912 Congress sanctioned the allowance of the War Depart- 
ment of four machine guns per regiment. In 1919, as a result of the 
experience of the war, and the new army plans provided for an equip- 
ment of 336 machine guns per regiment. 

The annual report of the secretary of war for 1916, said, "Perhaps 
no invention has more profoundly modified the art of war than the 
machine gun." 

Although the Vickers-Maxim type had been recommended after 
thorough tests, it could not be put on a quantity-production basis be- 
cause of difficulties of manufacture. 

A new gun well adapted to quantity production was presented for 
trial. This gun, the heavy Browning, performed satisfactorily in all 
respects and was adopted as the ultimated standard heavy machine 
gun. The light Browning, designed by the same expert, was easily in 
the lead as an automatic rifle, weighing only fifteen pounds. The 
Lewis gun, too heavy for satisfactory use as an automatic rifle and not 
capable of the long-sustained fire necessary in a heavy gun, was very 
well suited, with slight modification, for use as a so-called flexible gun 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 369 

on aircraft. A small number (2,500) of these guns were ordered for 
training purposes for ground use, but the bulk of the possible produc- 
tion of this gun was assigned to aircraft purposes. In addition to the 
flexible type, airplanes require also a synchronized gun ; that is, a gun 
whose time of firing is so adjusted that the shots pass between the 
propeller blades. The Vickers gun had been used successfully for this 
purpose in Europe and the call was insistent for their diversion to this 
use, both for our own planes and for those of the French. After many 
trials and adjustments, however, the Marlin gun, a development of the 
old Colt, was adapted to this purpose. A subsequent development was 
the design of a modified form of the heavy Browning for aircraft use as 
a s)aichronized gun. 

The earliest needs of our troops in France were met by French 
Hotchkiss machine gvins and Chauchat automatic rifles. A little later, 
divisions going over were provided with Vickers heavy guns and 
Chauchat automatic rifles. After July ist, divisions embarking were 
equipped with light and heavy Brownings. Both Browning guns met 
with immediate success and with the approval of foreign officers as well 
as with that of our own. 

Although the light and heavy Browning guns were brought into 
production in February and April of 1918, they were not used in battle 
until September. This was not because of any shortage of supply in 
the later summer months but because of a deliberate and most signifi- 
cant judgment on the part of General Pershing. What he feared was 
that if the first of the guns to reach the expeditionary forces were used 
in battle there would always be some chance that one might be cap- 
tured by the Germans. If this should happen it was possible that with 
their quick recognition of the importance of any military improve- 
ment and the demonstrated German industrial capacity for quantity 
production, they might begin the immediate manufacture of German 
Brownings. For these reasons the Brownings were not used in com- 
bat until they were used in large numbers in the Meuse-Argonne battle. 

When troops embarked for France they carried with them their 
rifles, and sometimes their machine guns and automatic rifles. 

From the beginning of the war the call for pistols was insistent. In 
this case the American armv was fortunate in having in the Browning- 



370 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Colt a weapon already in production and more effective than the cor- 
responding weapon used by any other army. But while there never 
was any question as to the quality of the pistol, there was much trouble 
in securing them in numbers adequate to meet the demands. To help 
meet the situation a revolver was designed using the same ammunition, 
and placed in production in October, 191 7. As a result the troops in 
France who were likely to require them for close combat were supplied 
with one or the other of these weapons so far as possible, but full equip- 
ment was never secured. A sufficient supply of small-arms ammuni- 
tion has always been available to provide for troops in service. To 
meet the special needs of the air service and of anti-aircraft defense, 
new types of ammunition have been designed and produced, the pur- 
poses of which are indicated by their names — armor piercing, tracer, 
and incendiary. 

We never had nearly enough of these weapons to equip fully our 
entire army, and only during part of the months of the war were there 
enough for the full equipment of the troops in France even if all the 
pistols and revolvers had been there and issued. 

In the cases .of automatic rifles, machine guns, and rifles there was 
always a supply on hand in excess of what would have been required 
for the equipment of the expeditionary forces alone. 

At this point it is appropriate to comment on the fact that there are 
many articles of munitions in which American production reached 
great amounts by the fall of 1918 but which were not used in large 
quantities at the front because the armistice was signed before big sup- 
plies of them reached France. In the main, these munitions are arti- 
cles of ordnance and aviation equipment, involving such technical 
difficulties of manufacture that their production could not be impro- 
vised or even greatly abbreviated in time. 

Artillery 

It was true of hght artillery as it was of rifles, that the United 
States had, when war was declared, a supply on hand sufficient to 
equip the army of 500,000 men that proponents of preparedness had 
agreed might have to take the field in the event of a large emergency. 

The great difference between the manufacturing output necessary 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 371 

to get an army going quickly and that required to keep it going after 
it has been equipped, explains the enormous industrial disadvantage 
suffered by a nation which enters a war without its stocks of military 
supplies for initial equipment already on hand. 

The decision was made in June, 1917, to allot our guns to training 
purposes and to equip our forces in France with artillery conforming 
to the French and British standard calibers. The arrangement was 
that we should purchase from the French and British the artillery 
needed for our first divisions and ship to them in return equivalent 
amounts of steel, copper, and other raw materials so that they could 
either manufacture guns for us in their own factories or give us guns 
out of their stocks and proceed to replace them by new ones made from 
our materials. With our initial requirements taken care of in this 
way, we should at once prepare to manufacture in our own plants 
artillery of these same calibers for the equipment of later divisions. 
Of the enormous amount of equipment made necessary by the expan- 
sion of the army from its first strength to the contemplated force of 
5,000,000 men, the artillery and artillery ammunition could be im- 
provised with the least facility, for the necessary processes of its man- 
ufacture involved irreducible periods of time. In spite of all these 
handicaps, the record of actual production on United States army or- 
ders only, is 1,642 complete units of artillery before the armistice was 
signed. 

In the magnitude of the quantities involved the artillery amnnmition 
program was the biggest of all. Copper, steel, high explosives, and 
smokeless powder were all required by the hundreds of millions of 
pounds. As no firms were prepared to manufacture complete rounds, 
it was necessary for the ordnance department to make contracts for 
each component and to assume the burden of directing the distribution 
of these components between manufacturers. For the shrapnel it was 
possible to use the design substantially as had previously been used in 
this country, but the high explosive and gas shell proved more trouble- 
some. A large supply of American shells was produced, however, 
before the signing of the armistice, and shipment to Europe in quantity 
had begun. The ammunition actually used against the enemy at the 
front was nearly all of French manufacture, but the approaching sup- 



372 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

ply from America made possible a more free use of the French and 
British reserves. 

One of the striking contributions of the United States to the cause 
of the Allies was the enormous quantity of smokeless powder and 
high eplosives produced. From April i, 1917, to November 11, 1918, 
the production of smokeless powder in the United States was 632,000,- 
000 pounds, which was almost exactly equal to the combined produc- 
tion of France and Great Britain. This was not all for our own use. 
About half the British supply in 191 7 was drawn from this country, 
and in 1918 over a third of .the French supply was American made. 
The established rate of production in this country by the close of the 
war was forty-five per cent greater than the combined French and 
British rate. 

The American production of high explosives — T. N. T., ammonium 
nitrate, picric acid, and others — was not established, when we de- 
clared war, on so large a scale as that of smokeless powder. It was 
necessary therefore to erect new plants. This need, by the way, was 
the main reason for the restrictions on the sale of platinum, which is 
necessary at one point in the process of manufacture. As a result of 
the eflforts that were made, our established rate of production of high 
explosives at the close of the war was over forty per cent larger than 
Great Britain's, and nearly double that of France. The result of the 
high rate of production of both smokeless powder and high explosives 
was that the artillery ammunition program was never held up for lack 
of either the powder which hurls the bullet or shell from the gun or the 
high explosive which makes the shell efifective when it reaches its 
destination. 

When the clouds of chlorine suddenly enveloped the British and 
French lines in the Ypres salient, early in 191 5, a new weapon was in- 
troduced into the war. That it was a powerful weapon is evidenced 
by the fact that during the year 1918 from twenty to thirty per cent 
of all our battle casualties were due to gas. 

At the time we entered the war we had had practically no experi- 
ence in manufacturing toxic gases, and no existing facilities which 
could be readily converted to such use. At the signing of the armis- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY Z7Z 

tice, we were equipped to produce gas at a more rapid rate than France, 
England, or Germany. 

In the early days of our participation in the war it was hoped that 
concerns engaged in chemical manufacture could be put into this new 
field. There were many valid objections, however, to such a plan. 
Many of these concerns were already crowded with war work. En- 
tirely new equipment would have to be installed, which, in all likeli- 
hood, would be practically worthless at the close of the war. Exhaus- 
tive investigation and experimentation would mean delay in securing 
and retaining adequate labor forces. For these reasons the Govern- 
ment found it necessary to build its own chemical plants and to finance 
certain private firms. The majority of these producing plants, togeth- 
er with plants for filling shells with gas, were built on a tract of land 
in the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, which came to be known 
as the Edgewood Arsenal. 

Che;mical Warfare Service 

The following on the chemical warfare service of the army was 
written by Major Frank W. Mack of Storm Lake : 

This department of the LTnited States army was organized in the 
early part of 1918. Its pioneer work was started out of two depart- 
ments; one the American University at Washington, D. C, which did 
most of the early chemical research work, and the other department 
was the ordnance corps which started actual building of factories for 
the manufacture of the dififerent chemicals and put the manufacturing 
of the same on a large production basis, 
"it was in July of 191 7 that a numl)er of young engineers from Storm 
Lake volunteered their services and attended the Second Officers' Train- 
ing Camp and afterwards received their commissions. The writer 
was one of this group and received orders to report to the ordnance 
corps at a certain address in Washington. It was the trench war- 
fare department of the ordnance corps where I found a corps of en- 
gineers who had been working since early Jvme on building a small 
chemical plant filling station. All work was made as mechanical 
as possible, due to the large number of fatalities which were occurring 
in the French and English armies while handling the gases. The 
first plant which these engineers were working on grew in capacity so 
rapidly, due to an increasing demand for gas, until in April of 1918 



374 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

we had built an enormous chemical and filling plant, adding to this 
factory the largest chlorine plant in this country. 

It was at this time that our President and Congress were forced to 
recognize the enormous project that was before this country in the 
line of gas and chemicals, and it was then that the chemical warfare 
service was born, and at its head was placed Major General Sibert. 

This department was divided into two major heads : The defensive 
and the offensive. The defensive department was headed by Colonel 
Dewey. Their main work consisted of manufacturing gas masks, 
protective clothing, booths, and canisters. Also, to be represented in 
each regiment with officers and men to instruct all the soldiers in the 
various means of self-protection and the proper way to aid in taking 
care of the men who get gassed. They surely did a wonderful work 
in the production of masks, as it was onl)^ a short time before masks 
became plentiful. 

The offensive department was organized to manufacture the various 
gases and chemicals and to fill all gas projectiles for artillery use. 
Also, to have an experiment station where these gases and projectiles 
were tried out. In order to understand what this department had to 
undertake, you must realize that a series of factories had to be built 
and a main factory and shipping depot had to be built; that to build 
and operate a main factory and depot it was necessary that railroads, 
highways, water and sewer systems, light and power, and immense 
storage buildings had to be built, in order to handle the raw and fin- 
ished products. Also, that such a plant would have to be built oft" by 
itself because of the danger of its raw and finished products. 

Congress purchased what was known as the "Gunpowder Reserva- 
tion," a neck of land stretching out into the waters of the Chesapeake 
Bay, with the Gunpowder River on one side and the Bush River on 
the other. It is about twenty miles northeast of Baltimore, near the 
Pennsylvania right-of-way. 

Here the main and central factory was built during the fall of 191 7, 
and nearly completed within one year. This plant was called Edge- 
wood Arsenal and was divided into three large divisions as follows : 

The chlorine plant capacity was 250 tons of gas, besides its by-pro- 
duct, caustic soda, in many tons. 

The chemical plant manufactured liquid chlorine, chloropicrin, 
phosgene, mustard gas, brombenzal cyanide, white phosphorus, and 
tin tebrachloride. 

Almost all of these were produced in tons per day and some ran 
very high in production. 

The filling plant section was built to fill shells of from 75 mm. to 9.4 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 375 

shells, Livens drums, incendiary drop-bombs, stokes, and various other 
projectiles with the gases manufactured by the other two departments. 

In addition it was the duty of this division to maintain and operate 
all the railroads, water, and light plants. Its production ran over ten 
thousand daily of shells, besides a large production of bombs and other 
projectiles. 

My first assignment was to build a 6000 KVA electric plant which 
we started in December of 1918, and continued through one of the 
worst winters the state of Maryland had had for many years. When 
we had this about two-thirds completed the officer in charge of general 
construction was released from duty and I was called in to take over 
the completion of the filling plant as its field officer. This forced me 
to supervise the construction of forty barracks, commissary for the 
regiment, Y. M. C. A. building, highways and standard gauge rail- 
roads, refrigeration plants and the filling plant itself. When we were 
swinging full pace I had a force of some six thousand civilians and- 
about two thousand soldiers, most of whom were engineers. 

My part was to see that I had a good organization and then to see 
that this organization worked in harmony. Had it not been for the 
wonderful talent and ability of both men and officers I would not have 
been able to swing the job. 

Wish to say that practically seventy per cent of our men and officers 
were picked men and I would not ask any greater honor than to work 
with the class of soldiers and officers that were in my battalion. My 
battalion had forty-five hundred soldiers during operation of the plant 
and with few exceptions all were men. 

Motor Transportation 

An innovation in this war, development of which in the future 
promises to be even more important, was the increased use of motor 
transportation. As applied to the artillery, this meant the use of 
caterpillar tractors to haul the big guns, especially over rough ground. 
When we entered the war no suitable designs existed for caterpillar 
tractors of size appropriate for the medium heavy artillery. But new 
five-ton and ten-ton types were perfected in this country, put into pro- 
duction, and 1,100 shipped overseas before November ist. About 
300 larger tractors were also shipped and 350 more secured from the 
French and British. 



376 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Tanks 
The tank was an even more important application of the caterpillar 
tractor to war uses. In the case of the small six-ton tanks, the efforts 
of this country were largely concentrated on improvement of design 
and on development of large scale production for the 19 19 campaign. 
Up to the time of the armistice sixty-four had been produced in this 
country, and the rate at which production was getting under way is 
shown by the fact that in spite of the armistice the total completed to 
March 31, 1919, was 778. The burden of active service in France 
was borne by 227 of these tanks received from the French. From the 
pen of John Carey of the headquarters company, tank corps, comes the 
following concerning this branch of the service : 

The tanks, a very vital element in the winning of the great war, 
have been more or less a mystery to most Americans on this side, ow- 
ing to the fact of their scarcity in this cotmtry and to the policy of 
secrecy on the part of the government. 

For those who are interested in this branch of the service I think 
the best way to enlighten them about tanks is to take them through the 
course of training just as Uncle Sam did when he received his recruits 
at one of the many tank recruiting stations. 

The recruit, as I once was, was sent to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 
where with wondering eyes we almost neglected the historical signifi- 
cance of the site of the famous Civil War battle in our anxiety to see 
droves of the famous fighting machines. But a wise government ear- 
ly in the game teaches recruits that the army is full of disappoint- 
ments. On asking of a tired-looking guard where the tanks were I 
received a worn-out grin and a not too-assuring answer that I would 
find tanks everywhere. I did find "tanks," but of a different species 
than I had seen on the posters of the recruiting station. There was 
one French tank in Gettysburg so well guarded that no one could see 
it, for Gettysburg was where the tanker was given his infantry train- 
ing. At this point I might interrupt and say that a recruit for the 
tank corps must qualify in three branches of the service — the infantry, 
the cavalrv. and the artillery. Infantry, because an extra tank crew 
advanced with the following "doughboys"; cavalry, because the tank 
assumed cavalry tactics ; artillery, because the tanks were armed with 
37 mm. guns, or the equivalent of our one-pound canons. This also 
explains the significance of the tank corps' shoulder insignia, which is 
a large triangle containing three small triangles of infantry blue, 
artillery red, and cavalry yellow. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 377 

Back on that famous old battlefield of Gettysburg, then, we received 
our infantry drill, and on the less famous but more rocky fields of 
Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, we received our artillery training. This 
plan, however, was broken by an early call overseas. On September 
23, 1918, after a score of inspections, the order to entrain was given 
and we arrived in Hoboken at 3:30 a.m., and were placed in a ware- 
house waiting to go on a much camouflaged English ship at a nearby 
pier. If a fellow tanker ever reads this and was in that warehouse 
with me for those twenty-four hours, please don't tell why I laugh 
when I recollect that only too short space of time; and to those who 
know not, a word of warning: Never keep soldiers and Old Scotch 
in the same warehouse, for it exemplifies only too well a law of elec- 
tricity that "unlikes attract each other." 

We bade the Statue of Liberty good-by on the 25th and hit for the 
open seas with a naval plane overhead, a destroyer to our right, and a 
big four-stacker cruiser ahead of us. Like every one who sailed the 
seas in those days, we expected to have a sulimarine show up and blow 
up the whole thirteen ships of our convoy before we were a day out. 
We were rather disappointed that a submarine didn't at least give us 
a thrill, but we were destined to have thrills of a different nature. Two 
days out we encountered one of the worst storms in thirty-five years, 
so the English crew told us. This storm lasted during the whole 
twelve days to come. Then the "flu" hit vis, and before our ship landed 
we had buried thirty-seven of our number at sea, and we left 1 19 on the 
pier at Liverpool dying with pneumonia. This was not the only mis- 
fortune of our convoy, for the storm was so great as to throw the 
destroyer Kashimir out of the water and on the very decks of our sister 
ship, the Otronto, wrecking both ships on the coast of Ireland, with a 
great loss of life. 

After this trip, every man knew how to die, as every ship suffered 
a like number of deaths and their flags were always at half-mast. 
There was hardly a moment but we could hear the faint echo of "taps" 
from some of the convoy, calling another comrade to his last sleep. 

We landed in Liverpool on October 7th, disembarked next morning, 
and were loaded on trains bound for Southampton. It was getting 
dark when we neared Southampton and here we saw our first glimpse 
of war, for the sky was ablaze with great shafts of light swinging back 
and forth in search of the dreaded Zeppelin. From Southampton we 
crossed the Channel in the night to Cherbourg, France. They say the 
Channel is rough ; I don't know. I slept all the way across, as did two 
colored bunkies who flanked me on either side of the passage way floor. 
The blackest one of the two awakened me in the morning with a jab, 



378 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

saying, "Heah we ah, white buddy; heah is France! Heah is mo' 
ground. Ah ain't ever gwine to eat fish any more. Even mud don't 
look the same to me any more. Too wet ! Too wet !" 

I never saw him afterwards, but Ell wager he ate fish and I know 
he saw mud. for government gold fish was our menu, and mud — well, 
mud was everywhere. 

We next were burdened with a rest at an English rest camp. Then 
we boarded our "40 horses" and "8 Chevaux" tourist cars, which made 
me envv, for the first time, an American tramp with a whole box car 
to himself. We went across France to our training center at Langres. 
There we saw our first fleet of tanks, plying back and forth among 
shell holes. Here we were introduced to veteran tank men, for at the 
same time that the tank corps was organized in the United States there 
was a tank corps organized in the A. E. F. and these men were the only 
ones who ever saw real action in the tanks. These men had been used 
at St. Mihiel, Essey, Larsard, Beney, St. Maurin, Janville, and in the 
Meuse-Argonne drive at Varrennes, Cheppy, Boulney, Apremont, 
Martinville, Charpentry, Very, Montibeau Woods, Exermont, Som- 
merance, St. Jivin, Landres, and St. Georges, and at many points with 
the British. At the Argonne-Meuse, according to Lieutenant-Colonel 
Vives, they had 115 per cent casualties, including their replacements. 

The veterans of these battles were instructors in our school. The 
companies were split up and while one-third was taking a course in 
mechanics, others were training on machine guns and 37 mm. guns and 
others were getting instructions in driving. The training in me- 
chanics and in gunning was more or less technical and vminteresting. 
The real thrill was when one came into his own and occupied a seat 
as a driver in a real tank. 

The Renault tank, which is the tank adopted by the American army, 
is a two-man or baby tank. It consists of an elongated armor body 
about thirteen feet in length, six and one-half feet in height, a trifle 
over a yard wide, equipped with a set of caterpillar treads and motor. 
The armor is one-fifth to three-fifths inches in thickness and capable 
of withstanding small-arms fire and the burst of smaller shells. The 
body is surmounted by a revolving turret which carries either a single 
machine gun or the short barrelled three-inch canon. 

The interior is divided into two compartments — one for the crew 
and the other for the power plant. In the forward compartments sits 
the driver and back of him the gunner, who operates the gun in the 
revolving turret. A wide belt of strap serves as a seat for the gunner, 
who can turn the turret to any point. Slits seven-eighths of an inch 
wide afford a measure of vision for both men. Entrance is by doors 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 379 

immediately in front of the driver. The rear compartment is entirely 
separated from the front compartment by an armor bulkhead. This 
compartment contains the Renault engine, oil tank, and radiator. The 
crank handle for starting the engine extends into the forward compart- 
ment directly behind the gunner. The tank is guided by two handles 
which control the treads, e.g., advancing the speed of the right tread 
would turn the tank to the left. 

With this understanding of what we are driving let's take a ride. 
A course is mapped out, taking in many dift'erent depths of shell holes, 
and our last instructions before going were to hit the holes square or 
we would tip over. It is difficult for the driver to see through his little 
slit and the gunner must direct him by pats on either shoulder for 
right or left, or at the head for a halt. I can describe it best by falling 
downstairs to charivari music with a pail of oil thrown on for good 
measure. 

After I had finished my course, I was assigned to a platoon or fleet 
of tanks. There are five tanks in a fleet and when attacking they 
travel in a large triangle with the signal tank ahead. During an 
advance every tank zigzags in order to allow no direct hits. Signals 
are given by flags from the commanding tank and also by runners. 
Distress signals can be sent by any of the tanks. Their chief use is 
advancing before infantry, breaking the wire entanglements and rout- 
ing machine gun emplacements. 

The Huns combated the tanks with anti-tank gnns, gas, large high 
explosives, and traps. 

The anti-tank gun resembles a rifle but is larger and shoots an 
armor piercing bullet. The bullet is soft-nosed and upon impact with 
the armor plate it forms a cone. The heat of impact softens the armor 
and allows a small, hard steel slug to pass into the tank. 

The traps were large holes, filled with water and covered so as to 
resemble the terra which would collapse on being driven over. Many 
tank men lost their lives in these traps. One of the most conspicuous 
instances was that of Corporal Harold W. Roberts of San Francisco, 
on whom Congress bestowed the Congressional Medal of Honor 
through General Pershing's recommendation. Roberts, during a 
charge on Germans, was driving a light tank which plunged into a 
water-filled trap. Water and mud covered the tank. Only one of the 
two-men crew could escape. Roberts pushed his companion out to 
safety, saying, "Well, only one of us can get out — and out you go." 
This is but one of the many instances of bravery often spoken of by 
drivers or gunners. 

Might I add in conclusion that the greatest difficulty in all tank 



38o HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

training was the finding of a man on whom you thought you could 
depend to be a fellow member in a tank crew. Somehow or other they 
all paired up and many peculiar teams were the consequence. My 
driver was an ex-minister. I was afterwards accused of mercenary 
motives in choosing him, but, strange as it may seem, common sense 
can be used to some advantage even in the army. 

The efiforts of this country in the case of the heavy thirty-ton tanks 
were concentrated on a cooperative plan, by which this country was to 
furnish Liberty motors and the rest of the driving mechanism, and the 
British the armor plate for 1,500 tanks for the 1919 campaign. 

The most important single fact about our artillery in France is that 
we always had a sufficient supply of light artillery for the combat divi- 
sions that were ready for front-line service. This does not mean when 
the divisions went into the battle line they always had their artillery 
with them, for in a number of cases they did not. 

The statement does mean, however, that when divisions went into 
line without their artillery this was not because of lack of guns but 
rather because it takes much longer to train artillery troops than it 
does infantry and so, under the pressure of battle needs in the summer 
and fall of 1918, American divisions were put into line a number of 
times supported by French and British artillery or without artillery. 

In every one hundred days that our combat divisions were in line 
they were supported by their own artillery for seventy-five days, by 
British artillery for five days, by French artillery for one and one- 
half days, and were without artillery for eighteen and one-half days 
out of the hundred. Of these eighteen and one-half days, however, 
eighteen days were in quiet sectors and only one-half day in active 
sectors. There are only three records of American divisions being 
in an active sector without artillery support. 

Camouflage 

Written by Manson Redenbaugh of Storm Lake : 

The first I heard of the camouflage outfit was at the One Hundred 
and Sixteenth Engineers' camp, in Angers, France, where I was first 
stationed. Here the camouflage section had established a school with 
Master Engineer Munn at the head of the work. The school had 
three classes, one class being sent out each week and new men coming 
in every week. At the end of my second week in this camp, I saw 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 381 

a notice on the bulletin board asking for more volunteers for camou- 
flage work. I inquired into the work and volunteered. The next 
week I started to school, finding it a great relief from drilling all day 
as I had been doing for two weeks. 

Our first lesson was a talk on camouflage by our master engineer. 
The rest of our lessons were usually obtained out in the field where we 
were shown how to do the real work. ^Ve put up flat-tops for eight- 
inch howitzers, anti-air craft guns, French 75's and larger. We also 
concealed large guns under trees so that they could not be seen at a dis- 
tance of 300 feet. 

We also learned how observation posts were built. Some were 
made in the trenches, some under ground in front of the trenches, and 
others in trees, etc. We were taught how to camouflage communicat- 
ing trenches, machine gun nests, and whole trenches, which may be 
necessary at times. Occasionally, we would have a class on the inside 
on map reading, compass reading, and a few secrets of photography. 

Camouflage is not all painting or mostly painting as some people 
may think it is. Flat-tops, which are used for covering large guns, 
are made of fish-nets and bvirlap or chicken wire fencing and burlap. 
The fish-nets the usually of two sizes, 30x30 inches, and 2>7^2)7 inches, 
having about one-inch mesh. All through these nets strips of burlap 
are tied. The strips are from six inches to ten inches long and about 
one inch wide. When the strips are being tied great care is taken to 
not get them in any regular order. They must be irregular. Every- 
thing in camouflage is done to imitate nature and nothing in nature 
is regular, so we are taught. The burlap is colored to suit the svtr- 
roundings. If the ground is covered with dead grass, a light brown 
burlap is used ; if the grass is green, a green burlap is used, etc. The 
thicker and taller the grass, the darker it will show in a picture. In a 
picture grass will have the same efl^ect, as may be seen in a brussels 
rug. The longer the brussels, the darker the rug, although there may 
be the same number of brussels. This is due to the shadows that the 
brussels or grass, as it may be, will cast. All this must be kept in 
mind by the camouflage man as he picks out the camouflage best suited 
for the position. This napp efi^ect, as it is called, is also shown in the 
flat-top camouflage, the thicker the strips the darker it will show in 
the photograph. 

One can see by what has been explained that flat-top camouflage 
does not have to be the same color as the earth or grass, but can be 
thickened or thinned as may be necessary to match the surroundings. 
When putting up these flat-tops there are many other difficulties that 
may arise; for instance, you may want to place the gun where there 
is a furrow, roads, or possibly where two fields meet, such as a 



382 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

stubble field and a plowed field. To cover a furrow the furrow 
must show through the camouflage, for if it doesn't, when the pic- 
ture is taken by "Jerry" he will see the furrow stopping in one place 
and commencing again a short distance away and will know immedi- 
ately that there is something wrong. Jerry takes pictures every day 
and everything must be done to avoid causing one picture to be any 
dififerent than the other, for as soon as he has any suspicion of a spot 
he will turn his guns on it, to make sure, and if a Sammy happens to 
be there, it is goodby Sammy. 

A furrow will show up dark in a picture and to show this efifect in 
the camouflage, the strips of burlap must be tied thicker directly over 
the furrow. It is always best to place a gun near a road or partly 
under trees, which will make it easier to camouflage. If a gun must 
be placed out in the open, possibly in the middle of a field, it will be 
necessary for a road to be made out to the gun to get the gun there and 
to bring up ammunition and supplies. Roads or wheel tracks of any 
kind show up very plainly in a photograph and to remedy this diffi- 
culty the road must be made on past the position, possibly to some 
other road or to some trees. Then these tracks or road must be 
made to show in the camouflage as the furrow. Then when the pic- 
ture is taken nothing will be seen but the road, and although Jerry 
may know what has caused it, he will not know where the gun is. 

When putting up a flat-top great care must be taken to allow no 
one to tramp on the ground outside of the ground that will be cover- 
ed, for foot-prints either in grass or on the bare ground will show up 
greatly in a picture. To avoid this, the men must do the work with- 
in the ground to be covered, and from underneath the top after it is 
stretched. Such work as thinning or thickening the camouflage may 
be done from beneath after it is up. 

About all that is needed to put up a flat-top are a few seven-foot 
poles, some heavy wire, a few staples, and a heavy hammer. 

The camouflage made from chicken-wire fencing and burlap is 
used more than the other, for then a position can be made any size 
or shape desired. 

To put up a position for a French 75, or in fact, any gun, the di- 
rection of fire must first be determined. Then the space needed for 
the gun and men must be marked off. For a 75 mm. gun a space of 
eighteen feet by twenty-seven feet is usually desired. A smaller 
space could be used but the more room the easier it will be for the bat- 
tery men to work. Around the outside of this space two or three 
layers of posts will be placed and the heavy wire stretched tightly 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 383 

across them and staked at the ends on the outside of the position, in 
this manner. 

The posts are usually put about nine feet apart and are merely 
set on the ground, for the wire will hold them in place. After the 
posts are set and the wire stretched, the scrim as it is called, or cam- 
ouflage, is put on top, stretched tightly and thinned out as is needed. 
On the side in the direction of fire an embrasure must be made. An 
embrasure is a door that may be opened when the gun is fired. When 
completed the position will look something like this from above. 

For larger guns larger positions may be made. 

There are many other forms of camouflage, but the flat-tops are 
used more frequently. A big gun may be camouflaged by placing it 
underneath a large tree or trees and putting camouflage in front and 
around it so that it will look as though there was nothing there but 
the trees. This may be done wih scrim and garlands, colored to 
match the surroundings. Garlands are strips of burlap tied on fence 
wire about six inches apart. The scrim and garlands may be thin- 
ned or thickened as is essential for the circumstance. 

BUILDING OBSERVATION POSTS 

Building observation posts is also a part of camouflage. These 
are made any place that the enemy may not detect. Sometimes an 
underground passage will be dug to a dead stump and then the stump 
hollowed out and a small hole made in one side where one man may 
sit and watch the enemy's movements. An observation post may be 
made just in front of the trench. This is done by digging under- 
ground for a short distance and coming up to an old cart roll of wire 
or something of the kind where a periscope may be pushed up with- 
out detection. Other times they may be placed in the rear bank of 
the trench, when it is higher than the fore bank. In all such places 
where here is danger of being hit, the observation post is protected 
on the inside by plate steel. 

Other parts of camouflage have to do with covering machine gun 
nests, communication trenches, camouflaging roads, making snipers' 
suits, and making canvas coverings for airplanes. 

When camouflaging roads, camouflage is merely hung along one 
side of the road high enough that trucks or men passing by may not 
be seen. The camouflage may be very conspicuous, but the enemy 
cannot tell when any one is passing over the roads so will not know 
when to fire. 

At the factory the French girls tie the strips of burlap on the nets 
and fencing; they also do the painting of the airplane coverings and 



384 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

do what sewing is needed. The painting the girls do is done with 
mops or brooms; no skill is needed. The burlap that is used for 
strips is painted by machinery. A large percentage of glue is added 
to make it water-proof. The girls often did heavy work, such as to 
load and unload trucks, push Irish buggies, etc. 

Our work at the factory in Dijon lasted for only one week and 
then we were sent to the front, but too late to get into real action. 

Air Service 

prewar equipment 

When war was declared in April, 1917, the United States had 
two aviation fields and fifty-five serviceable airplanes. The nation- 
al advisory committee in aeronautics, which had been conducting a 
scientific study of the problems of flight, advised that fifty-one of 
these airplanes were obsolete and the other four obsolescent. 

This judgment was based on the operations in Mexico, which had 
demonstrated serious defects in the designs of American planes used 
there. It was well known that improved types had been developed 
in the European conflict, but the details of their design were care- 
fully guarded and withheld from neutrals. 

Immediately following the declaration of war, the Allied govern- 
ments, particularly the French, urged the necessity of sending 4,500 
American aviators to France during the first year, if superiority in 
the air were to be insured. This request emphasized the need of 
speed. The European instructors who came over later to assist in 
the training work made no pretense that the 4,500 schedule was 
practical. The problem was to approximate it as nearly as possible. 
Public expectation was greatly exaggerated, due to the general ig- 
norance, shared by even the best informed American authorities on 
aviation, as to the requirements, other than simple flying ability 
which this service exacts. 

There were three primary requisites for bringing into existence 
an elementary aviation service. These were training planes, avi- 
ators, and service planes. All of them had to be created. 

For the task of training, as well as that of securing the necessary 
planes and motors, there existed in our army no adequate organiza- 
tion of qualified personnel. Before the war our air service had been 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 385 

small, struggling-, and unpopular. Aviation was restricted to un- 
married officers under thirty years of age, and offered no assured 
future as a reward for success. It had made its greatest appeal to 
the younger and more daring types of line officers, and was not an 
organization on which a great industrial expansion could be built, 
or from which any large numbers of qualified instructors could be 
drawn. 

Training for aviation divides itself into three stages — element- 
ary, advanced, and final. Elementary training, given to all candi- 
dates alike, includes physical raining, hygiene, various practical 
and theoretical military subjects, the study of the structure and mech- 
anism of airplanes and engines, signaling, observation, ground gun- 
nery, and elementary flying to the point of doing simple flying alone. 

Advanced training consisted in the specialized work necessary to 
qualify the student as a well-prepared all-around pilot or observer, 
as the case might be, ready to take up and master quickly any type 
of machine or any kind of observation or bombing duty which the ex- 
igencies of the service might necessitate. 

Final training, given in Europe, was a short intensive specializa- 
tion on the particular type of machine, or any particular military 
problem to which the pilot or observer was finally assigned. 

The initial shortage of instructors and the opening of new fields 
made it necessary to retain a considerable proportion of the early 
graduating classes as instructors. At the date of the armistice there 
were thirty-four fields in operation, with 1,063 instructors; 8,602 men 
had been graduated from elementary training, and 4,028 from ad- 
vanced training. There were then actually in training 6,528 men. 

The total personnel of our air service, including flying and non- 
flying officers, students, and enlisted men, increased from about 1,200 
at the outbreak of the war to nearly 200,000 at the close. 

With 4,500 aviators demanded and only fifty-five training planes on 
hand, the production of training planes was the problem of greatest im- 
mediate concern. Deliveries of primary training planes were begun 
in June, 1917. To the date of the armistice over 5,300 had been pro- 
duced, including 1,500 of a type which was abandoned on account of 
unsatisfactory engines. 



386 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Advanced training planes reached quantity production early in 
1918; up to the armistice about 2,500 were delivered. Approximate- 
ly the same number were purchased overseas for training the units 
with the expeditionary force. 

European experience had demonstrated that the maintenance of a 
squadron, whether in training or in service, requires more engines 
than planes for replacements. Pending the results of American ex- 
perience, British figures, requiring an average production of two en- 
gines per plane, were adopted as standard for American computa- 
tions. Extensive orders were placed for two types of elementary and 
three types of advanced training engines. 

Quantity production of training engines was reached in 191 7 and 
by the end of November, 19 18, a total of nearly 18,000 training en- 
gines and more than 9,500 training planes had been delivered. Of 
the engines, all but 1,346 were built in the United States; and of the 
9,500 elementary training planes, more than 8,000 were of American 
manufacture. 

As soon as war was declared it became possible for American offi- 
cers and engineers to learn the secrets of the great improvements that 
had been developed during the war in the design of airplanes used in 
battle service. A commission was immediately sent abroad to select 
types of foreign service planes for production in the United States. 

A controlling factor in their selections was the necessity of redesign- 
ing the models so as to take American-made motors, as foreign en- 
gine production was insufficient to meet even the needs of the Allies. 

Because of this and because of the rapidity with which the designs 
of the smaller planes were changing, the best Allied authorities urged 
the concentration of American production on the more stable obser- 
vation and bombing machines, leaving the production of pursuit 
planes to the European factories, which were in closer contact with 
the front. In the case of any plane selected only an estimate could 
be made as to its probable adaptability to a new type of motor, this 
engineering risk being less in the more conservative types of design. 
This consideration, together with the imperative need for quick large 
scale production, led to the selection of four types for this experiment : 
The De Haviland-four (British) observation and day-bombing ma- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 387 

chine, the Handley-Page (British) night bomber, the Caproni 
(ItaHan) night bomber, and the Bristol (British) two-seated fighter. 
This selection was approved by the French and British authorities. 

The redesigned De Haviland-four proved to be a good, all-around 
plane of rather poor visibility, with a tank design which increased the 
danger in case of a crash, but with these defects more than compen- 
sated by unusually good maneuver ability, and great speed. The De 
Havilands were acknowledged to be the fastest observation and 
bombing planes on the western front. At the time of the armistice 
this plane was being produced at the rate of over 1,100 per month. 
A total of 3,227 had been completed, 1885 had been shipped to France 
and 667 to the zone of advance. The Handley-Page was redesigned 
to take two high-powered American motors, passed its tests, and on 
the date of the armistice, parts for 100 had been shipped abroad for 
assembl)^ 

Delay in the receipt of plans for the Caproni greatly retarded the 
redesign of this machine. Successful tests of the new model were, 
however, completed previous to the armistice. The Bristol fighter 
was a failure. The changes necessary to accommodate the American 
engine so increased the total weight as to render the machine unsafe. 

The rapid development of the heavier types of airplane, together 
with the pressing need for large scale production, made necessary the 
development of a high-powered motor adaptable to American meth- 
ods of standardized quantity production. This need was met in the 
Liberty 12-cylinder motor which was America's chief contribution 
to aviation. After this standardized motor had passed the experi- 
mental stage production increased with rapidity, the October output 
being over 4,200. The total production of Liberty engines to the 
date of the armistice was 13,547. Of this production 4,435 were 
shipped overseas to the expeditionary forces and 1,025 were deliver- 
ed to the British, French, and Italian air services. 

Other types of service engines, including the Hispano-Suiza 300 
horsp-power, the Bugatti, and the Liberty eight-cylinder, were under 
development when hostilities ceased. 

Up to the end of November, 191 8, the total number of service en- 
gines secured was in excess of 22,000. Of this number more than 



388 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

16,000 or seventy-three per cent were from American sources and 
less than 6,000 from foreign sources. 

The American and alHed airplane programs called for quantities 
of certain raw materials, which threatened to exhaust the supply. 
This was true of spruce and fir, lubricating oils, linen, dopes, and 
mahogany. 

In order to meet the spruce and fir shortage labor battalions 
were organized and placed in the forests of the west coast, loyal or- 
ganizations of civilian labor were fostered, new kiln processes were 
developed which seasoned the lumber rapidly, without loss of 
strength and resiliency. These methods solved the problem. Ap- 
proximately 174,000,000 feet of spruce and fir were delivered, of 
which more than two-thirds went to the Allies. 

Castor oil was at first the only satisfactory lubricant for airplane 
motors. The limited supply was far short of the prospective de- 
mand, but the situation was met by planting a large acreage of cas- 
tor beans and the development of a mineral oil substitute. 

To meet an acute shortage of linen for the wings of planes a fab- 
ric of long-fiber cotton was developed which proved superior to linen. 

The standard "dope" used by the Allies to cover the wings of their 
planes, making them air and water tight, was limited in supply and 
highly inflammable. A substitute dope, far less inflammable and of 
more plentiful basic materials, was produced. 

]\Iahogany for propellers was partially replaced by walnut, oak, 
cherry, and ash, and by improved seasoning processes excellent re- 
sults were secured. 

Few facilities and little experience existed at the beginning of the 
war for the development of many of the delicate instruments and in- 
tricate mechanisms required in the equipments of service planes. In- 
tensive research brought soirx' notable results of which several de- 
serve especial mention : 

The oxygen mask, equipped with telephone connections, enabled 
the flyer to endure the rarified air at any altitude which his plane 
could reach without losing speaking contact with his companions. 

The military parachute, which was developed to unprecedented 
safety. This was used principally for escape from burning balloons, 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 389 

and was improved so that it would bring down safely the entire bal- 
loon, basket with its load. During the entire war there was not an 
American casualty due to parachute failure. 

The electric-heated clothing for aviators on high altitude work. 
The electric suit, developed in the latter months of the war and used 
at the front was lined with insulated coils through which current was 
driven by means of a small dynamo actuated by a minature propel- 
ler driven by the rush of the plane through the air. 

Long focus, light-filtration cameras, by which good photographs 
could be taken through haze from altitudes of three miles or more. 
Primary credit for this belongs to Europe, but America improved 
the mechanism and standardized the design for quantity production. 

The wireless telephone, by which the aviator is enabled to con- 
verse easily with other planes and with ground stations. This de- 
velopment came too late to be of any substantial use at the front, but 
its value for peace as well as for any future war is obvious. 

In no field did American manufacturing achieve a greater rela- 
tive success. Before the armistice we had produced 642 observation 
balloons and had received twenty from the French. Forty-three of 
our balloons had been destroyed and forty-five given to the French 
and British. 

This left us with 574 balloons at the end of the war. On the same 
date the Belgian Army had 6, the British 43, the French 72, and the 
Germans 170 on the western front. These figures mean that at the 
end of the war we had nearly twice as many observation balloons as 
the enemy and the Allies combined had at the front. 

Forty-five Squadrons at the Front 

The American pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille were transferred 
from the French to the American service December 26, 1917, flying 
as civilians until formally commissioned in late January, 191 8. They 
were then attached to and served with the French Fourth Army, 
operating over Rheims. 

In addition to the purely American operations, two full squadrons 
were attached to the British royal air force in March and June re- 
spectively, of 191 8, remaining with the British throughout the war, 



390 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

and participated in the following engagements: The Picardy 
drive, Ypres, Noyon-Montdidier, \''iellers, Bray-Rosieres-Roye, 
Arras, Bapaume, Canal du Nord, and Cambrai. 

The strictly American aviation operations started in the middle 
of March, 1918, with the patrolling of the front from Villeneuve-les 
Vertus by an American pursuit squadron using planes of the French 
built Nieuport-twenty-eight type. These operation were in the na- 
ture of a try-out of the American trained aviators, and their com- 
plete success was followed by an immediate increase of the aerial 
forces at the front, with enlargement of their duties and field of ac- 
tion. By the middle of May squadrons of all types — pursuit, ob- 
servation, and bombing — as well as balloon companies were in op- 
eration over a wide front. These squadrons were equipped with 
the best available types of British and French-built service planes. 
Observation squadrons, whose business it is to make observations, 
take photographs, and direct artillery fire; pursuit squadrons, using 
light fighting planes to protect the observation planes at their work, 
to drive the enemy from the air, or to "strafe" marching columns by 
machine-gun fire; the day bombers, whose work was the dropping 
of bombs on railways or roads; and the night bombers, carrying 
heavier bomb loads for the destruction of strategic enemy works. 

The equipment of American squadrons was in the early months 
entirely of French and British manufacture. American De Havi- 
land-four planes were first used at the front on August loth, and 
the number in service increased rapidly from that time on. 

The rapid rate of destruction of planes at the front is illustrated 
by the fact that out of 2,698 planes dispatched to the zone of ad- 
vance only 1,162 remained at the time of the signing of the armistice. 

Three major operations, marking the critical points in American 
participation in the war, also furnish a comparison indicating the 
growth of American air forces in action. These are: The Second 
Battle of the Marne, St. Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne. 

On the Chateau Thierry-Soissons front the Germans had at the 
start a pronounced superiority in the air. The American air service 
succeeded, however, in establishing the lines of contact with enemy 
airmen from three to ten miles within the enemy's lines, photograph- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 391 

ed the entire front and the terrain deep behind the hnes, and played 
an important part in putting German air forces on the defensive. 
German concentration for the attack of July 15th was reported in de- 
tail and the location of the German reserves established, while the 
secrecy of the allied mobilization for the counter-attack was main- 
tained and the Germans surprised. The American force employed 
consisted of four pursuit squadrons, three observation squadrons 
and two balloon companies. 

In capturing- the St. Mihiel salient the American First Army was 
aided and protected by the largest concentration of air forces ever 
made, of which approximately one-third were American and the 
other two-thirds' were French, British, and Italian squadrons operat- 
ing under American command. Throughout this operation the 
German back areas were kept under bombardment day and night; 
their reserves and munition dumps were located for the American 
long-range artillery; propaganda designed to disaffect enemy per- 
sonnel was dropped; record was made by photograph of every move- 
ment of the enemy's lines and reserves, such information being fre- 
quently delivered to headquarters in finished photographs within 
half an hour after its occurrence; and fast pursuit planes armed with 
machine guns flew low over the German lines, firing directly into his 
infantry. 

Day bombers and corps and artillery observers were forced to fly 
low on account of the fog which hampered all the day operations, 
greatly reduced the visibility, and made infantry liaison especially 
difficult. This accounts for the fact that some trouble was experi- 
enced by the infantry with German "strafing" planes. 

The American air force employed consisted of twelve pursuit 
squadrons, twelve observation squadrons, three bombing squadrons, 
and fifteen balloon companies. This large force performed an 
amount of flying approximately three times as great as was done 
during the Chateau Thierry operations. 

Because the Meuse-Argonne engagment covered a wider front 
and a more extended period of time, against an enemy who had im- 
proved liis distribution of air force along the entire southern section 
of the front, no such heavy instantaneous concentration -of planes 



392 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

as was made at St. Mihiel was possible. In this operation, more- 
over, less assistance was rendered by French and British flyers. The 
American force used during the engagement was considerably larger 
than at St. Mihiel. 

During the six weeks' struggle, the losses were heavy, but re- 
placements were brought forward so rapidly that at the last stage 
of the action the available American strength was greater than at 
the start. 

The final test of the American air service is the test of battle. The 
final record is the record of the results of combat. Casualty figures 
are an important part of the record. American aviators brought 
down in the course of their few months of active service 755 enemy 
planes. Our losses in combat were 357 planes. 

Training for Air Service 
Written by John Laird Parkhill : 

I enlisted in the air service January 10, 1918, hoping to be of some 
service to my country as a flyer. At Omaha, where I enlisted, I had 
to pass a strict mental and physical test. The only alteration that I 
needed physically was to have my tonsils removed, which I did, with 
a great expenditure of saliva. 

The "whirling chair" test was an unusual feature of the physical 
examination. It was designed to determine whether or not one re- 
acted normally to whirling motions such as would be experienced in 
tail spins, power spirals, and , other similar stunts. It made me sick 
for the rest of the day, which was normal reaction, and rather de- 
preciated flying in my eyes for the time. 

My call to service came April 25th and directed me to report at 
Austin, Texas, June ist. 

I spent three months of hard study in the school of military aero- 
nautics in Austin. That was "ground school." Here we learned all 
we could about flying while on the ground. We studied engines, 
aeroplanes, meterology, and other technical and military subjects, as 
well as the gentle art of infantry drill. Austin is known as the 
"West Point of the air service." Studies were hard, and discipline 
strict. Such a system of elimination was used that thirty-three per 
cent of the cadets were "busted out." This created an atmosphere 
of continual strain, because everyone was intensely ambitious to be 
a flyer. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 393 

Upon graduation from ground school most of us were placed in a 
concentration camp, Camp Dix, Dallas, Texas, due to a lack of train- 
ing planes. At this memorable camp we lived in cow barns and pig 
pens on the state fair grounds; and shoveled coal, did K. P., and 
stood guard. This for six to eight weeks. 

I was certainly glad when, on October 25th, I was sent to Eberts ■ 
Field in Arkansas for flying instruction. We used the Curtis-J. 
N-4, which would almost fly itself on a calm day. Now most of my 
hard work was over, barring a few coal piles and tours of K. P. and 
guard. I enjoyed every minute I was in the air. 

At this time we were given the "re-breathe" test for altitude en- 
durance. It consists of putting one through all the stages of suffo- 
cation (excepting the last) and noting his reactions. I passed with 
an A, meaning no altitude limitations. 

When the armistice was signed we were given an opportunity to 
resign, but I stayed in for the love of flying. 

As a good many had left the service and the small fields were be- 
ing closed, the Eberts Field cadets were sent down to Love Field, 
Dallas, Texas, on January 19, 1919. Eberts Field had been rather 
a dead place socially, but in Dallas we were literally accorded the 
freedom of the city. 

In Texas I learned to stunt, fly in formation, and fly by compass. 
At the end of my flying course I passed the R. M. A. (Reserve Mili- 
tary Aviators) test and was commissioned March 13, 19 19. The 
R. M. A. test consists of taking off out of a field 2,000 feet square 
and in one circle of the field gaining 500 feet altitude, the gaining 
2,000 feet altitude, cutting the motor over the field, and spiraling 
down into the field. You must make a spiral to left and right and 
land zooming over a ten-foot wall, and stopping close to the lime- 
marked spot in the field. This is not as hard as it sounds. 

No words can express my disappointment at not getting across, but 
my experience in flying was worth while, and the air shall always 
attract me the same as the sea called to our adventurous forefathers. 

Aviation — the Balloon Section 

Written by Forrest L. Hoefile : 

The balloon is made of a silk-rubber fabric sufficiently water- 
proofed. When inflated it measures something like ninety feet 
long and about twenty-seven to thirty feet in diameter. It is fitted 
with a main gas bag surrounded by a small air space; of a shape in 
a general way like a cigar, with ear-shaped projections at the tail 



394 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

which in the parlance of the balloon men are called "fins," the pur- 
pose of which is to keep the balloon from rolling. A rudder located 
beneath the fins is for the purpose of keeping the balloon headed in- 
to the wind. 

The rigging includes the basket ropes, handling guys, and metal- 
lic V. Gas is injected into the balloon through a valve in the nose. 
Control of the balloon is maintained by means of a standard steel 
cable wound from a drum of a winch on the ground, which is cap- 
able of drawing down at the rate of 1,500 feet a minute. The cable 
carried also telephone wires which afl:'ord communication from the 
officers in the basket to the men on the ground. In observation 
work the balloon is generally floated at 700 meters or 2,100 feet. The 
winch from which the lead runs to the balloon above is usually a 
single motor car, though some of the cars are equipped with two 
motors, one for driving the car, the other for driving the winch. 

The balloons have a capacity of 35,000 cubic feet of hydrogen gas. 
If a gas plant is near, they are filled by the nurse-bag process, from 
a large bag made of balloon cloth, but when operating in the field 
the gas is furnished from steel cylinders. 

In handling a balloon there are required forty-two men, a balloon 
sergeant, and a balloon or flight officer. The entire company con- 
sists of 170 men, 4 medical men attached, and 8 officers. AH are 
designated as special duty men except the 40 who are rec[uired to 
handle the balloon. Special duties of the several men are: Tele- 
phone men, to take care of the telephone lines around the balloon; 
switchboard men; radio men, to look after radio work; chart room 
men, to keep records of the observations made by the men in the bas- 
kets; riggers, whose duty is to take care of the riggings of the bal- 
loon; fabric men, to attend to the patching and repairing of leaks; 
gas men, who inflate the big bag with gas; machine gunners for 
anti-aircraft work; chaufifeurs, mechanics, welders, and special duty 
men. This personnel is divided as follows: Two master signal 
electricians, 12 sergeants first class, 10 sergeants, 16 corporals, 6 
chaufifeurs first class; 11 chaufifeurs, 32 privates first class, 76 privates, 
with officers consisting of commanding officer, supply officer, medi- 
cal officer, balloon officer, 4 observation officers. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 395 

Constructing Airplane Hangars in England 

Written by Fred D. Steinbeck of Albert City, who enlisted as a brick- 
mason : 

The first aviation camp at which we were stationed was at Lok- 
combe Corner, England, where we arrived April 4, 1918. 

Inasmuch as this was a new camp and few conveniences had been 
provided we were compelled to live in tents and a few shacks, with 
cloth hangars to house the flying machines. Our duty here was to 
construct brick hangars and barracks. Our forces erected nearly 
fifty new buildings, such as hangars, barracks, a garage, laundry, 
hospital, a place of amusement, and every such building as is necessary 
to make a camp modern. Some of the buildings were very large, 
ranging from 50 to 350 feet in length. The four hangars were 
150x250 feet, twenty feet high, with steel roof and with doors in 
both ends. Buildings erected at this camp were substantially built 
and will stand many years. What they can be used for since the 
close of the war is a mystery to me, for there are many such 
camps in England, and some of them are even larger than this one. 
No American fl3'ers were stationed at this camp; all of the aviators 
were Britishers. This was the place at which finishing touches were 
put on their training, and when they left here they were ready for 
the front. Some of the men we knew there were superior aviators. 
At times there would be as many as thirty in the air at once, doing 
different stunts which never failed to be of interest to us. 

After six months of work at this camp we were ordered to Man- 
chester, a much larger camp, but work there was interrupted by the 
signing of the armistice, and as far as I know it was never finished. 

After having observed the large scope of the plans for military 
operations at these two points I can easily believe the wonderful 
stories we have been told of immense army equipment, supply, and 
housing plans at other places. 

Spruce for Airplanes 

Contributed by Dr. J. H. O'Donoghue, Captain in the Medical 
Corps : 

During the summer of 191 7, the slogan of the American people 
was "Airplanes will win the war." The United States had no air- 
planes, but possessed an abundance of raw materials from which to 
make them. Chief among these materials is spruce to make the 



396 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

wing beams and other wooden parts, for it is light, tough, and very 
strong. A bullet may cut a spruce wing beam half in two, but this 
wood does not split readily and will still hang together. 

Spruce in abundance is to be had in western Washington and 
Oregon, but the lumber industry of the Pacific Coast, in 1917, was 
prostrate through controversies between labor and capital and the 
activities of the L W. W. In the late summer of 191 7, the United 
States, with our allies, England, Italy, and France, managed to send 
troops to these states partly to intimidate the I. W. W., who were 
threatening sabotage, and partly to get out airplane spruce. The 
several cantonments contributed their share of men, the men being 
selected because of some previous experience in logging, milling or 
railroad building, or rafting. The wishes of these men were not 
consulted in the matter. They were not volunteers, but were or- 
dered to this service just as their comrades were ordered to France 
or elsewhere. 

In the autumn of 1917 the soldiers built the famous "cut up" mill 
at Vancouver, Washington, all operated by electricity, where the 
spruce "cants" M-ere sawed into wing beams and started on their 
way for the places where airplanes were to be built in England, 
France, and Italy, and of course, also in this country. Our troops 
departed for the saw mills, lumber camps and ship yards in Decem- 
ber, 191 7, and although the winter was well begun and logging oper- 
ations practically discontinued, they set the saws moving and the 
donkey engines pufifing, and the dead lumber business came suddenly 
actively to life, and steady streams of Douglas fir and spruce were 
soon moving toward ship yards and the cut-up plant at Vancouver. 
But still the supply of spruce was far below that needed, and in Jan- 
uary, 1918, the government organized camps to get out airplane 
spruce exclusively. 

The spruce tree is a very wonderful tree, growing two or three 
luuidred feet high, and attaining a diameter of ten feet at the sawing 
plane, ten feet above the ground, but it is twisted like a barber's pole 
and if sawed as the western mills do it, the pieces are cross grained 
and viseless for wing beams, so it was necessary to split or "rive" the 
logs into "cants" so that the cut-up mill could saw with the grain. 
This was a tremendous undertaking as the riving must all be done 
by means of wedges and jack-screws, as powder would ruin the wood 
for wing beams, and was not permitted. The average spruce log 
was six feet in diameter, and spruce splits with great difiiculty, but 
the soldiers succeeded all the same and a steady stream of "cants" 
was soon moving into the cut-up mill at \^ancouver. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 397 

The apparatus used in logging is very impressive. The donkey 
engine and its outfit of cables is the unit of all operations. The don- 
key engine is erected on a great sled-like thing whose runners are 
logs about three feet in diameter and thirty-five to forty feet long, 
and it travels around through the woods under its own power much 
as I imagine the big tanks did in France, and with as little regard 
for trees and stumps, and other obstructions, crossing ravines and 
rivers with no appreciable delay. 

In selective logging, the experts — tree spotters — go into a region 
which the engineer determines from maps and surveys may yield air- 
plane spruce, and select the spruce trees which will furnish' airplane 
stock, but none less than four feet in diameter at the cutting level. 
These are marked and carefully located on a map. The "fallers" 
come after the spotters, and cut the trees down, the "buckers"' follow 
and cut to suitable lengths, then come the donkey engines, each with 
about two or three thousand feet of steel cable, two inches in dia- 
meter. Three donkey engines make a team. First the "yarder," 
which is one or two thousand feet from the plank road or railroad 
track, hauls all the logs within two thousand feet to its landing by 
means of a "high lead." The high lead is a tree cut ofif about one- 
hundred fifty to one hundred eighty feet above the ground, guyed by 
cables, and supporting a stationary block or pulley, weighing about 
five hundred pounds, through which the two inch steel cable which 
drags the logs in from the woods runs. Next the "roader," a don- 
key engine similiarly equipped, which drags the logs from the "yar- 
der"^ to the loading place on the plank road or railroad, and next 
the "loader," which lifts the great logs and lays them carefully on 
motor trucks or railway cars, which convey them to tide water in 
rivers or inlets where they are dumped into the "booms" and after- 
wards made into rafts and towed to the saw mills by motor or steam 
tug boats. 

A hazardous looking business it is. The high climber must blow 
ofif the top of the tree for the high head with dynamite. He must 
perch around up there to put the guy cables and tackle. If anything 
breaks, some one is sure to be hurt or kjlled. The "choker" men 
put a turn of cable around one end of a log six feet to eight feet in 
diameter; the donkey engine starts from a signal from the "whistle 
punk" and the cable begins to run through the pulley at the top of 
the high lead and the huge log comes crashing through the woods, 
taking smaller trees and stumps out of its way. It is followed by a 
man called the "chaser" who signals any trouble to the whistle punk 
who must also keep him in sight and he in turn signals the engineer 



398 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

to stop, go back, go ahead, etc., by means of a signal wire. A 
"chaser" was killed one day by a catapulted six-foot log thrown into 
the air when the log he had choked started to move. Another was 
killed by an old dead tree struck by the moving log which for some 
unaccountable reason did not topple at once, but fell just in time to 
get the following chaser. An entire camp was caught in a forest 
fire and escaped down the creek bed to the tide flat, scantily clad, but 
without casualties. We vised tons of dynamite in clearing for plank 
roads, railroads, and deepening stream beds, but strangely enough 
we had no serious accident from dynamite, though on two occasions 
huge billets of wood tore through the infirmary tent and interrupted 
operations in progress. 

The much feared L W. W. never gave any trouble, but of course 
armed guards were posted night and day, and no sabotage was ever 
perpetrated, nor do we know that it was ever planned. 

In the early spring of 1918 the "genius" appeared and showed the 
western saw mill men that a spruce log could be cut into cants with 
the grain in any modern saw mill, so after that the riving ceased, and 
the soldiers did "selective logging" which enormously increased the 
output, and when the armistice was signed, the cut-up plant was run- 
ning twenty-five units twenty-four hours a day shipping 1,000,000 
feet of wing beams to the factories every day, and in fact the lumber 
situation had improved to such an extent that a regiment had been 
ordered released for foreign service December, 1918, and others 
were to follow later as they could be spared. 

The division at the date of signing of the armistice contained 
32,000 officers and men under the command of Brigadier General 
Brice P. Disque, and was known as the air service production divi- 
sion. They were not limited service men nor industrials, but it 
seems to the writer rather superior to any other large body of troops 
with which he became acquainted during the war. Selected from 
the various cantonments for their special experience, and knowledge 
of logging, milling, and railroading, they had no option but to serve 
at home in this humble way. Living in canvas camps, remote from 
civilization, working and sleeping in the rain and mud, they expe- 
rienced all the hardships of service on the battle lines, and while they 
can not share in the greater glory which so deservedly rests upon 
their comrades who fought across the sea, they were not exempt 
from its hazard, for of the 2,300 men with whom the writer was 
associated during the summer and autumn of 1918, fourteen met 
with accidents which resulted fatally, while a very large number of 
lesser "casualties," like loss of hand, a leg, or an eye, occurred. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 399 

The writer is not prepared to say what part, if any, this division 
had in whipping- the Kaiser, bnt he knows that the amount of spruce 
for airplanes started on the way to the mills should have been suffi- 
cient to darken the sky of the Kaiser's great domain, and we left 
90,000,000 feet of lumber in the woods, on the plank roads and rail- 
roads, and on the booms in Willapa Harbor subdistrict alone, when 
the armistice was signed. 

Aerial Photography 

Writing from the aviation field at Dayton, Ohio, in May, 1918, 
Carl A. Johnson, a photographer from Newell, gives the following 
ideas of war photography: 

This is one of the largest and oldest aviation fields in the United 
States. I would like to send you a picture of it but we are not per- 
mitted to have cameras for private use and there are no views for 
sale. We are a company of eleven men, all from Cornell University, 
and will get busy at once to make a mosaic of the camp. A mosiac 
is an aerial photograph map. We are the first photographers on 
the field and will have our hands full. 

Aerial photography has been, called the "eyes of the army." It 
is more than the eyes — it is the truthful and accurate observer and 
the unfailing memory, the historian without suspicion. Of all 
sources of information concerning the enemy, that obtained by 
means of aerial photography is most perfect and complete. 

A photographer desirous to serve in the aerial photographic sec- 
tion must first take a course in the United States Army School of 
Military Aeronautics, and thoroughly familiarize himself with this 
branch of the service. 

Various types of cameras are used. They are fastened in the 
bottom or on the side of the fuselage, as they are too cumbersome 
and bulky to manipulate except when held in rigid position; though 
of course hand cameras are also essential for oblique photographs. 

The C. & E. changer type and the L type cameras are equipped 
for 4x5 plates and each magazine accommodates twelve or twenty- 
four plates. Magazines are interchangeable so the operator may 
carry several when up on a photographic mission, as they are easily 
changed while in the air. The G. E. M. and the Brock automatic 
are equipped for roll film 4^4 inches wide by 46 feet long, and an 
area 33 miles long and one-third mile mile wide can be strip mapped 
with a single film. For mapping purposes an altitude of 5,000 feet 
is generally used. 



400 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

The work of an aerial photographic section at the aviation fields 
consists of instructing cadets in aerial photography and aerial map- 
ping, and photographing officers and cadets for records to be kept 
on file at Washington, D. C, photographing every crash or mishap 
and all other photographic work which may be of interest to the 
authorities. 

Chaumont Never Under Attack 

Written by Mahlon H. Johnson, Company C, Headquarters Bat- 
talion : 

Chaumont, a quaint little old French city, lodged in and about the 
valley of the Marne, where, centered on the highest elevation, in 
majestic beauty, is the Damremont Caserne, was the home of the 
General Headquarters of the American Expeditionary Forces from 
September, 191 7, until June i, 19 19, when G. H. Q. broke up almost 
as quickly as the clouds break away after a summer rain. The Cas- 
erne (French for garrison or camp), a large, enclosed, and fortified 
French training camp, provided the quarters for the multitudinous 
departments and sub-departments of the administrative organiza- 
tion of the G. H. Q. 

Within a short distance of the Caserne, to the east, courses the 
river Marne; to the west lies the Valley of Peace, in which are seen 
beautiful pastures, picturesque gardens and wooded hills, separated 
and crossed by snow-white macadamized roads. To the northwest 
the two valleys join and the river Marne, bordered by the beautiful 
Marne canal, which shines on a clear summer day like a white silk 
ribbon, winds about a high, wooded hill, and out of view it flows on, 
to Paris. 

It is said that Chaumont was selected as the site for the main head- 
quarters of the American Expeditionary Forces because of the stra- 
tegic importance of its location with respect to that of the fighting 
forces of the American army, and because of the excellent natural 
protection that the surrounding hills gave the city from any manner 
of attack by the enemy. The city was not at any time attacked by an 
armed force of the enemy, from land or air, although those stationed 
in the city felt in danger of nightly air-raids. The blinds were 
kept tightly drawn, at the windows of the ever-busy offices at all 
hours of the night until the day of November nth, when it seemed 
that a heavy blanket was lifted from the entire place. 

On one autumn day "Jerry" did come over, about i :oo o'clock in 
the afternoon, bent on photographing, according to the rumors. It 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 401 

was said that there were five Boche planes. Cloud shells were sent 
up over the Caserne from the anti-aircraft guns, and the minute 
that the enemy was discovered a half dozen planes from the Ameri- 
can and French aviation center shot up into the air, but "Jerry" ran 
home as quickly as he came. 

On another day a balloon was brought down near the city, but 
there was nothing in it, and the assumption was that it got over the 
lines at night, after breaking loose, and floated away from the fight- 
ing. It was received with pleasure and most of it was sent back to 
this side in little pieces as souveniers of the "Battle of Chaumont." 

The Caserne proper consisted of three massive buildings, laid at 
right angles, facing Rue des Etats Unis (Road of the United States), 
and a number of smaller buildings, which are completely surrounded 
by a great wall of masonry. Between the three enormous struc- 
tures lies the parade ground, on which thousands of people may as- 
semble. Around the outskirts of this perfectly level and macada- 
mized quadrangle is an elaborate display of trees. 

Rue des Etats Unis was perfected by our own engineers, who 
added artificial beauty to the already existing natural enviroment. 
Long rows of trees are lined in single file beside the promenade; a 
road to each side of the promenade; more trees at the edge of these 
two roads, and then two more walks, which add to the convenience 
and beauty of the road as it winds its way into the city of Chaumont. 
On this street was the soldiers' Y. M. C. A. building, one of the most 
complete in France. Therein were reading, writing, and class rooms, 
two large auditoriums, a canteen, a restaurant, an enormous fire- 
place — everything practicable which could have been supplied for 
the entertainment and instruction of our men. Further up the street 
was the officers' Y. M. C. A. — more elaborate, but not less pleas- 
ing or serviceable. The entire Rue des Estats Unis is lined with 
architecturally artistic residences. 

In the French section of the Caserne, to the left of the three great 
buildings, were soldiers' quarters, administrative offices, infirmaries, 
and other necessary departments. Throughout the district are small 
plots of gardens and winding macadamized paths. Other sections 
of the Caserne were occupied by the British, French, and Italian 
missions. To the east of the Caserne, Camp Babcock occupied a 
prepossessing spot, and therein soldiers who worked at General 
Headquarters were quartered. To the west, leading down a gentle 
hill toward Peace Valley, was Camp Bacon, where most of the clerks 
who worked in the offices were quartered. To the south were the 
Marine Barracks, so called because it was there the Marines were 
housed during the year of their stay with G. H. O. 



402 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

In the three magnificent buildings of the Caserne the greatest 
part of the executive work of G. H. Q. was carried on. Here Gen- 
eral Pershing maintained his offices and those of his stafif, and it was 
here that G-i, G-2, G-3, G-4, and G-5 held forth, under which a few 
of the departments were: Information, secret service, topography, 
censorship, intelligence corps, administrative services, services Jbf 
supply, quartermaster corps, medical corps, engineer corps, ordnawe 
department, signal corps, air services, chemical welfare servi(S, 
general purchasing agent, transportation, provost marshal's service, 
beside the numerous branches directly or indirectly connected with 
these services. 

Chaumont was the center of an administrative web which extend- 
ed in every direction for miles and miles, the influence and effect of 
which has been felt throughout the world. It was at these head- 
quarters where the schemes and plans were created which resulted, 
on July 21, 191 8, at Chateau Thierry, in turning the tide of battle. 

It should be mentioned that "chaumont" is the French word for 
camel, and that the city was given the name because of the long hill 
shaped like a camel's back, upon the top and in the valleys at the foot 
of which the city rests. 

Chaumont, as the city in which the General Headquarters, Ameri- 
can Expeditionary Forces, were established, will live forever, and 
those who have been privileged to enjoy its hospitality will ever look 
back with pride in having been included in G. H. O.'s vast personnel. 

A Million Dollars an Hour 

For a period of twenty-five months, from April, 191 7, through 
April, 1919, the war cost the United States considerably more than 
$1,000,000 an hour. Treasury disbursements during the period 
reached a total of $23,500,000,000, of which $1,650,000,000 may be 
charged to the normal expenses which would have occurred in time 
of peace. The balance may be counted as the direct money cost of 
the war .to the end of April, 1919, a sum of $21,850,000,000. The 
figure is twenty times the pre-war national debt. It is nearly large 
enough to pay the entire costs of our Government from 1791 up to 
the outbreak of the European war. 

In addition to this huge expenditure loans were advanced to the 
Allies at the rate of nearly half a million dollars an hour. Congress 
authorized for this purpose $10,000,000,000, and there was actually 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 403 

paid to various governments the sum of $8,850,000,000. Of the 
United States Government war cost, the army was responsible for 
the expenditure of sixty-four per cent, or just short of two-thirds of 
the entire amount. 

, The total direct war costs amount to about $186,000,000,000, and 
of this sum the enemy countries spent about one-third and those on 
the allied side about two-thirds. Germany spent more than any 
other nation, and was closely followed by Great Britain, whose ex- 
penditures include those of her colonies. The figure for France is 
$12,000,000,000 less than that for Great Britain, and our own figure 
is below that for France. The Austrian expenditure was almost 
equal to that of the United States. It is noteworthy that the United 
States spent about one-eighth of the entire cost of the war and some- 
thing less than one-fifth of the expenditure of the allied side. 

The quartermaster corps, which paid the soldiers and furnished 
them with food, clothing, equipment, and miscellaneous supplies, 
spent the most. The ordnance department was next in order, with 
over $4,000,000,000 for munitions, more than half of its expenditures 
being for artillery ammunition. 

The total of our army expenditures about equals the value of all" 
the gold produced in the whole world from the discovery of America 
up to the outbreak of the European war. 

PERMANENT ASSETS 

As a result of the war efiforts large quantities of munitions, sup- 
plies, and equipment have been secured which will be of value for 
many years to come. The army now owns some of the finest docks 
in the world. The sixteen National Army cantonments and three 
National Guard camps will be retained permanently as training 
camps. A number of first-class aviation fields and depots and bal- 
loon schools will be a permanent asset. 

As to rifles and machine guns and their ammunition, light and 
heavy artillery and ammunition, tanks and tractors, of these we have 
a supply more than sufficient to equip fully an army of a million men 
and maintain them in active combat for six months. Thousands of 
Liberty motors and service planes are immediately available for any 



404 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

emergency. Engineer, signal, and medical equipment is on hand to 
the value of millions of dollars. 



Health and Casualties 
the deadliest war 

Of every loo American soldiers and sailors who took part in the 
war with Germany, two were killed or died of disease during the pe- 
riod of hostility. In the Northern Army during the Civil War the 
number was about ten. Among the other great nations in this war, 
between twenty and twenty-five in each loo called to the colors 
were killed or died. To carry the comparison further, American 
losses in this war were relatively one-fifth as large as during the 
Civil War and less than one-tenth as large as in the ranks of the en- 
emy or among the nations associated with us. The total battle 
deaths in this World War were greater than all the deaths in all 
wars for more than lOO years previous. 

Russia had the heaviest losses, in spite of the fact that she with- 
drew from the war after the fall of 191 7. American losses are third 
from the bottom of the list. German losses are thirty-two times as 
great as the losses of the United States, the French twenty-eight 
times, and the British eighteen times as large. 

BATTLE DEATHS BY SERVICE 

The chances of death are much heavier in the infantry than in 
any other branch of the service. Of each 1,000 enlisted men in the 
infantry forty-six were killed in action or died of wounds. The offi- 
cers show a higher rate. 

For every man who was killed in battle, seven others were wound- 
ed, taken prisoner, or reported missing. The number who died of 
wounds were only six per cent as large as the number who were 
wounded. Hospital records show that about eighty-five per cent of 
the men sent to the hospitals on account of injuries were returned 
to duty. 

The number of men reported as missing was steadily reduced 
from a total of 22,724, exclusive of prisoners, to 2,913 early in May, 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 405 

1919. Under date of September 10, 1919, it was announced by the 
War Department that every American soldier who became a casu- 
alty in the war against Germany had been accounted for. This end 
was accomplished without clearing any case as dead, except on evi- 
dence establishing beyond doubt the fact of death. Only twenty-two 
per cent of those who were originally reported as missing in action 
have been returned as dead. 

The work of the central records office of the American Expedition- 
ary Forces in clearing up the cases of men listed as missing has been 
more successful than that done in any other armies or in any previ- 
ous great war. When the records are finally completed, with all 
American soldiers accounted for, the missing lists of the other na- 
tions still runs into the hundreds of thousands. 

BATTLE AND DISEASE LOSSES 

The total number of lives lost in both army and navy from the 
declaration of war to May i, 1919, is 122,500. Deaths in the army, 
including marines attached to it, were 112,432. About two-thirds of 
these deaths occurred overseas. There were 768 lost at sea, of 
which 381 are included under battle deaths, since their loss was the 
direct result of submarine activity. Almost exactly half the losses 
were from disease. If the comparison between disease and battle 
losses is limited to the expeditionary forces, battle losses appear 
more than twice as large as deaths from disease. 

This was the first war in which the United States was engaged 
that showed a lower death rate from disease than from battle. In 
previous wars insanitary conditions at camps and the ravages of epi- 
demic diseases have resulted in disease deaths far in excess of the 
number killed on the battle field. The death rate from disease in the 
Mexican War was no per year in each 1,000 men; in the Civil War 
this was reduced to 65 ; and in the Spanish War to 26, while the rate 
in the expeditionary forces in this war was 19. The battle rate of 
53 for the overseas forces is higher than in any previous war. It is 
higher than in the Civil War because all of the fighting was concen- 
trated in one year, while in the Civil War it stretched over four 
years. 



4o6 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

THE CONTROL OF DISEASE 

Some of the outstanding causes of the remarkably low disease 
death rate in the war against Germany are : ( i ) A highly trained 
medical personnel, (2) compulsory vaccination of the entire army 
against typhoid fever, (3) thorough camp sanitation and control of 
drinking water, and (4) adequate provision of hospital facilities. 
During the war 31,251 physicians from civil life were commissioned 
in the medical corps. This number included leaders of medical 
science who have not only made possible the application of the most 
recent advances of medicine in the prevention and cure of disease, 
but have themselves made new discoveries during the course of the 
war, resulting in great saving of life in our own and other armies. 

The intestinal diseases, such as dysentery, the typhoids, bubonic 
plague, cholera, and typhus, have ravaged and even obliterated ar- 
mies in the past. During the Spanish- American War typhoid fever 
alone caused eighty-five per cent of the total number of deaths. In the 
war with Germany these diseases were practically eliminated as causes 
of death. Pneumonia was the greatest cause of death. More than 
40,000 died of that disease. Of these, probably 25,000 resulted from 
the influenza-pneumonia pandemic which swept through every camp 
and cantonment in this country and caused thousands of deaths in 
the expeditionary forces. 

Two other diseases which offered difficult problems for the med- 
ical force were measles and spinal meningitis. Measles was preva- 
lent during the first year of the war and was particularly dangerous 
as the predecessor of pneumonia. Meningitis caused nearly 2,000 
deaths, ranking next to pneumonia. 

VENEREAL DISEASE 

Great success has also been experienced in the control of the ven- 
ereal diseases. A comprehensive program of education, together 
with medical prophylaxis, produced unusual results. While these 
diseases continued to be the most frequent cause of admissions to the 
sick report, and the greatest source of non-effectiveness in the army, 
a large proportion of the cases were contracted before entering the 
army. A special study of all new cases of venereal diseases report- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 407 

ed at five large cantonments shows that of 48,167 cases treated, 
ninety-six per cent were contracted before entering the army and 
only four per cent thereafter. 

HOSPITALIZATION 

At the beginning of the war what was then considered an extrava- 
gant program of hospital construction was entered upon, with the 
intent that in no case should the army lack facilities for the care of 
its sick. On December i, 191 9, there were available in army hospi- 
tals 399,510 beds, or one bed to every nine men in the army. Of 
these, 287,290 were overseas and 112,220 were in this country. The 
hospital capacity was exceeded in this country only during the influ- 
enza epidemic, when it became necessary to take over barracks for 
hospital purposes. The overseas record was even better. Except 
during two weeks in October, at the height of the attack on the Hin- 
denburg line, the number of patients did not exceed the normal bed 
capacity of the hospitals, and at that time there were approximately 
60,000 unused emergency beds. 

A Nurse's Experience 
The experience of a Red Cross nurse is told in the following story 
from Miss Eva Delbridge, told in the Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune 
upon the occasion of a furlough in June, 1919, just after returning 
home from overseas. 

When asked about her experiences. Miss Delbridge said that the 
most wonderful thing that she had seen was the spirit of the wound- 
ed boys. Early in the war, the hospital service of the army was far 
from efficient. The 114th hospital unit had to wait three months 
for their hospital to be finished. At one time they were taking care 
of 7,000 men. There were only fifty-eight nurses and sixty medical 
corps men. The nurses would start dressing wounds early in the 
morning, and would not get through until eight or nine at night. 
There were men who were actually suffering for a drink of water, 
to say nothing of getting their wounds dressed. And yet, said Miss 
Delbridge, there was not one word of complaint from them. Con- 
ditions rapidly grew better, but the wish of the wounded men- seemed 
to be to cause as little trouble as possible. "They are simply wonder- 
ful; 100 per cent grit," said Miss Delbridge. 



4o8 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

She said that in civiHaii hospitals the big problem is to keep peo- 
ple from giving- up. But that is not the case in the army. Men 
come to the hospitals, mangled beyond relief. But there is never 
one word of complaint. They fight to the very last. 

Shortly before her death Miss Delbridge wrote the following ac- 
counts of experiences and conditions during her period of service. 

Base Hospital Unit 114, originally an orthopedic unit, was one of 
a number of hospital units sent to Beau Desert, which place was the 
largest hospital center in France, in fact the largest in the world. It 
was at the time of the signing of the armistice, equipped and prepared 
to care for 20,000 wounded soldiers. 

Base 114 sailed for France about the 5th of June, igi8. It was 
made up, in addition to our personnel of doctors, nurses, and corps 
men, of about thirty reconstruction aids and occupational aids. The 
reconstruction aids were sent principally for orthopedic purposes. 
On our arrival in Bordeaux we found this hospital was not yet fin- 
ished and in no way ready to receive our wounded. Our unit was 
then temporarily broken up, and many of us sent to the different 
evacuation hospitals at the front. We were badly needed up there 
and did service. 

After about three months we were called back to our respective 
places in the base center. After this, surgical teams, consisting of 
two doctors, two nurses, and three corps men were sent iu turns to 
the front as needed. At this time our base, as well as others at the 
place, were equipped, but the center as a whole was not in readiness 
— not fully equipped as for supplies and organized hospital unit. 
However, the wounded continued to pour in just the same. 

The base hospitals which were already in running order were called 
upon to open other units in the center, and during the big drives 
in September, October, and the first two weeks in November our base, 
as well as others, was caring for 6,000 to 7,000 wounded boys. Our 
boys had always the fighting spirit with them. Those of our con- 
valescent patients who were able to do errands, were glad to be of as- 
sistance to us and to their more unfortunate comrades. Thus they 
took many minor case from our personnel and added greatly to the 
comfort of our severely wounded. The boys' were always cheerful 
and hopeful — pure grit. With those of them who were seriously 
wounded, perhaps mortally so, one wish was to be soon able to go 
"home." With those who were less wounded, the one cry was to 
soon get back to their company. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 409 

Little ortheopedic surgery was done. It was deemed best to send 
patients needing work of this kind back to the United States as soon 
as they were able to be moved. About two months after the signing 
of the armistice our unit was again broken up; many of our nurses 
were sent to the dififerent camp hospitals throughout France, but 
most of us eventually came together again and were sent back as 
casuals, landing in New York harbor on the 23d of May, 1919. 

Red Cross 
An army of nurses and Red Cross workers overseas were as sub- 
stantially backed up by the civilian work done here, as the fighters 
were backed up by the subscriptions to liberty loans. This point is 
brought out in a letter from Miss May Schweitzer, written in Sep- 
tember, 1918, when she said: 

You've no idea what a splendid work the Red Cross is doing. We 
simply could not get on without them. Everything they send is 
made and done up so nicely; and as you see we have no time to make 
things you can imagine what that means. The boys tell of the won- 
derful work the Salvation Army is doing up near the front, too. I 
scarcely heard of them in the States and am surprised to know how 
strong they are over here. We realize more each day how fine you 
people at home are for the splendid way you are supporting these 
organizations. 

Caring for the Wounded 

Five surgical teams, each consisting of two surgeons, two nurses, 
and two corps men, cared for 250 to 500 wounded men a day, says 
Mart E. Wright, who went from Providence Township and was as- 
signed to medical corps duty in the task of opposing the Hun. 
Wright was in the base hospital at Souilly, Meuse, in the Verdun 
sector. He writes as follows of his experience: 

The duty of a corps man was to clean the wounded men and make 
them ready for the surgeon. The wounded came to us after they 
had been through the receiving room and the X-ray room. We as- 
sisted with the anaesthetic and helped care for the men until they 
were over the efifect of it. Because of the heavy fighting on the 
front we were busy every day; five surgical teams handling from 
250 to 500 wounded men a day — mostly American wounded, a few 
French, and also quite a few wounded German prisoners. 



410 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Wright gives the same testimony in regard to the spirit of the suf- 
fering men as did Miss Eva Delbridge in her story written from her 
observations as a nurse. He says: 

The wotmded never complained of their wounds; all were cheer- 
ful. Men with eyes out and arms off said they were lucky that it 
wasn't their head. I stopped to talk to one man who was waiting to 
be operated upon, to ask him how he felt. He said, "Pretty good, 
but I'd feel better if I had gotten that German who heaved a hand 
grenade at me." The man had thirty-two wounds, both arms brok- 
en, and one toe off. The German wounded received the same care 
as our own wounded; though quite a few of them seemed scared as 
to what was going to happen to them. The number of Germans 
who spoke English was remarkable. Most of them were glad to be 
out of the fight. They all thought the Allies would win, but did not 
believe the war would be over until the summer of 1919. 



THE WORLD WAR 

Heavy increase in the fighting equipment of Germany, failure to 
endorse any poHcy of arbitration, refusal to cooperate to secure the 
ends desired of the Hague Conferences, or to limit armaments, the 
forming- of an alliance with Austria-Hvmgary and Italy, the educa- 
tion of her people to a state of mind in favor of war, all point to the 
fact, especially in the light of later developments, that Germany was 
planning a war during the years when the rest of the world was 
seeking a basis for permanent peace. 

Military leaders of Germany anticipated with ill-concealed pleas- 
ure "Der Tag" (The Day), when the Central Empire would crush 
her rivals, and especially was her hope strong for reducing England 
to a subordinate position among the nations. 

It was recorded that about the time of the close of the Spanish- 
American War a German diplomat made the statement to an Ameri- 
can army ofificer: "About fifteen years from now our country will 
start her great war. She will be in Paris in about two months after 
the commencement of hostilities. Her move on Paris will be but a 
step to her real object — the crushing of England. Everything will 
move like clockwork; we will be prepared and others will not be 
prepared." 

A determination to increase her standing army was decided upon 
by Germany in 1913. Though immense sums were needed for such 
a project they were raised through taxation, with the addition of suf- 
ficient amoimts to purchase aircraft and guns of sufficient range and 
caliber to raze the heaviest fortifications. The fall of 1914 was set 
as the time when these warlike preparations should be complete. The 
Kiel Canal, important in a naval way, was widened and deepened to 
carry the immense battleships built during late years. This task 
was completed July i, 1914. With all equipment at hand and all 
forces ready for war, the consideration lacking was an excuse for 
opening hostilities. 



412 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

In the southern provinces of Austria-Hungary the Serbs and other 
Jugo-Slavs had for years been in a repressed state of rebellion 
against Austrian rule. Formal annexation of the provinces of Bos- 
nia and Herzegovina, after a period of time, when Austria-Hun- 
garv had been governing them temporarily, did not serve to mitigate 
the dissatisfaction. The ambition of the Serbian people was for a 
united kingdom of the peoples speaking that language. Serbia, as 
a small nation, hardly had the courage to assert herself, but successes 
during the Balkan Wars demonstrated her strength of arms, and, 
observing this success, the Serbs in Austria took courage to mani- 
fest their restlessness. This spirit was encouraged by the Serbs in 
Serbia, who inspired opposition to Austrian Government. Fearful 
that other subject peoples might be aroused, Austria set about find- 
ing an excuse for crushing her southern neighbor. 

Her decision to make war upon Serbia was announced in 1913 to 
her allies, Germany and Italy. Italy refused to be involved. Ger- 
many saw further than Austria. She was hardly ready, as yet, for 
the conflict that would ensue if Russia should come to the defense of 
Serbia, so persuaded Austria to withhold the attack. 

Francis Ferdinand Assassinated 

The summer of 19 14 brought the event that was destined to make 
longer suppression of European unrest iinpossible. During a visit 
which Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria- 
Hungary, made to the southern provinces of the monarchy, the 
archduke and his wife were mortally wounded by pistol shots, while 
driving through the streets of Serajevo on June 28th. The assassin 
was proved to be an Austrian Serb, whose ofifense was the more in- 
criminating because he was a member of a secret organization of 
Serbians whose purpose was to secure a final union of all Serbian 
provinces into the Kingdom of Serbia. The crime stirred all of Eu- 
rope. Furthermore, it gave Austria occasion to attempt to settle 
the conflict with Serbians. 

The intrigue of Germany to bring about war soon became appar- 
ent. Statesmen and generals of Austria and Germany were in con- 
ference on July 5th, at Potsdam, where, it is assumed, was reached 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 413 

the agreement to crush the Serbs. Even though Russia might come 
to their assistance Germany, being fully prepared, was not averse 
to taking advantage of the situation created to open the way for a 
general European war. 

Among the demands for accountability which Austria made upon 
Serbia the most humiliatiing was that in which the great power in- 
sisted upon the privilege of taking part in the investigation and sup- 
pression of anti-Austrian activities. This demand was in conflict 
with Serbian sovereignty. The note, dated July 23d, allowed the 
Serbians only until 6 o'clock, July 25th, in which to make a reply. 
Response was made within the time limit, consenting to all demands 
except the ofifensive one above noted. Serbia further suggested 
that possible differences be submitted to The Hague Tribunal. Aus- 
tria professed that the response was unsatisfactory. In less than 
an hour after the Serbian note was delivered, the Austrian minister 
addressed the Serbian government stating: "That not having re- 
ceived a satisfactory answer within the time limit set, he was leav- 
ing Belgrade." Preparations for war were at once made by Aus- 
tria-Hungary and on July 28th she declared war. 

England Offers Mediation 

Great Britain, France, and Italy immediately set in motion means 
to preserve peace. As early as July 26th, it was suggested by Sir 
Edward Grey, British foreign minister, that representatives of Ger- 
many, England, France, and Italy might conceive a plan of settle- 
ment which would be acceptable to both Austria and Russia. Ger- 
many remained obdurate against any spirit of cooperation to this 
end. She only asked that Austria be permitted to deal with Serbia 
in her own way. 

In the light of the heavy mobilization of Austrian forces which 
followed it seemed apparent that Austria was preparing to fight Rus- 
sia also — and Russia prepared for the conflict. Germany held 
out against any action which might have avoided war — even went 
so far as to ignore a suggestion from the Czar of Russia that the 
Austro-Serbian question be submitted to The Hague Tribunal. 

Ostensibly in the fear that the mobilization of Russian forces was 



414 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

a threat of war, Germany, on July 31st, sent ultimatums to both Rus- 
sia and France. She demanded of Russia that preparations for war 
be stopped. Of France she demanded a statement within eighteen 
hours as to whether that country would remain neutral in case of 
war between Germany and Russia. Before the German people the 
Kaiser tried to create the impression that "the sword is being forced 
into our hand." 

Russia refused the demand of Germany. Immediately Germany 
declared war upon the Czar's country. On August 3d, after learn- 
ing that France would stand by her ally, Germany extended her dec- 
laration of war to include France. Thus was set in motion the most 
stupendous military conflict of all ages. 

Immediately a contingency arose upon which Germany had not 
counted. Her military leaders believed that Great Britain would 
not enter the war. Yet behind this was the deliberate intention that 
when she had made herself supreme on the Continent that England's 
turn would come. 

Provisions of the Triple Entente did not demand that England 
join France and Russia in case of war. 

In spite of a treaty in which she agreed to respect the neutrality 
of Belgium, Germany chose a route through the little kingdom as the 
shortest road to France; hence, England, pledged to support of Bel- 
gium's neutrality, demanded that Germany desist from such a course. 
Germany refused, and on August 4th England declared war. With- 
in a period of one week, successive declarations of war had brought 
Russia, England, and France at war against Germany and Austria- 
Hungary. Italy remained neutral. 

First Year of the War 

German militarists planned to crush France before Russia's forces 
could be mobilized; then, with France under her heel, turn to the 
east and overcome Russia. Speed must be made in reaching France; 
hence, the need for a short line of travel and the commission of one 
of the greatest national crimes of history. 

Because of heavy fortifications and easily defended territory, the 
most direct route from the German border to Paris was not attempt- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 415 

ed. The aggressors decided to attack from the northwest, over a 
comparatively level plain through Belgium and up to Paris itself. 
Depending upon the neutrality of Belgium, which had been guar- 
anteed by treaties with Germany, Russia, France, and England, 
France had never built fortifications in this direction. In violation 
of this treaty, contemptuously referred to by the German chancellor 
as "a scrap of paper," Germany violated the neutrality of Belgium, 
hoping to crush France before the world could enforce any protest. 

Belgium resisted the invasion firmly, delaying the Germans ten 
days. During that time the intruders inflicted heavy punishment on 
the defenders of their homeland; but the delay gave France time to 
move her troops to a point of vantage and for England to put 100,- 
000 soldiers at the front. Paris was not captured, nor was France 
conquered. 

The little kingdom of Luxemburg, imagining itself secure under 
the same guarantee that had been given to Belgium, was without any 
army, and was soon occupied. 

On the 4th of August German forces attacked the fortress of 
Liege, in Belgium, and by the 27th the country, with the exception 
of Antwerp, was in the hands of Germany. The first conflict of 
German troops against French and English forces occurred August 
2ist-23d, when the defensive was pushed back toward Paris for 
twelve days, to a point within twenty miles of the city. Fearful lest 
Paris be captured, government archives were moved to Bordeaux. 
The line of battle now covered one hundred and seventy-five miles 
from near Paris to the fortress of Verdun. 

Then occurred the first battle of the Marne, September 6th-ioth, 
when General Jofifre hurled against the Germans a secretly collected 
army and drove them back fifty miles from their nearest advanced 
position. With a renewed sense of security the French capital was 
returned to Paris. 

The river Aisne afforded for the retreating German armies a place 
to entrench themselves and more firmly resist the push of the French 
and English. Each side of the river was occupied by opposing 
armies. The Germans, hopeful of capturing Calais, in order thus 
to cut off communication between England and France, made a dash 
for the North Sea. Antwerp was captured on October 9th, Lille 



4i6 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

on the 13th. Then followed the battle of Flanders, October 17th 
to November 15th, when by massed attacks the Germans lost 150,- 
000 men in a vain effort to break through the British lines. Belgian 
dikes of the river Yser were cut and the lowlands flooded in order 
to stop the push of the enemy. 

With the opposing armies in a deadlock the tactics of trench war- 
fare were adopted on a front of over three hundred miles. Germany, 
with possession of practically all of Belgium and the richest manu- 
facturing districts of France, began a reign of horrible barbarities 
and systematic frightfulness wholly in conflict with The Hague Con- 
ventions, with a view to reducing the population to a state of ser- 
vility. Machinery was stolen from factories; heavy fines imposed 
upon cities, and the country was plundered. Belgium was saved 
from starvation only by the humanitarian eflforts of friends in France, 
England, and America. More than two hundred thousand people 
were forced into industrial slavery. 

Turn to Eastern Front 

Delay of the program in the west enabled Russia to assemble an 
army in Russian Poland, from whence the forces moved to drive the 
Germans out of East Prussia and the Austrians from Galicia. When 
the Russian armies entered East Prussia in the middle of August 
their first efforts met with success. But they were met by German 
reenforcements in a marshy lake region and in the battle of Tannen- 
berg, August 26th-3ist, Von Hindenburg's army captured 70,000 
Russians and large quantities of supplies. The aggressors were 
compelled to retire from East Prussia. 

With the capture of the city of Lemberg and the fortress of 
Przemysl, the Russian campaign in Galicia was counted more suc- 
cessful. The Russian army crossed the difficult passes of the Car- 
pathian Mountains in order to make a series of raids upon the plains 
of northern Hungary. 

With the end of the year 1914 it was counted that the Russian sit- 
uation was disappointing. The campaign in East Prussia had failed, 
while an offensive in Galicia was successful. The advance toward 
Berlin could not be attempted. An important feature of her activities 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 417 

was that she had drawn German troops away from the western front. 
Austria, with part of her forces engaged in defense against the 
Russians, attempted to overwhehn the Serbians and met with disas- 
trous defeat. A counter Serbian offensive was repulsed and was 
pushed back on her own soil. The Austrians secured control of Bel- 
grade, the Serbian capital, for twelve days in early December, but 
were driven out. 

Turkey Becomes Belligerent 

Turkey, professedly neutral at the beginning of the war, soon de- 
veloped a friendliness for the Central Powers. Germany, hav- 
ing had a large influence in the training of the Turkish army, was 
in a position to practically dominate the policies of that country. A 
secret treaty, formulated as early as August 5th, united the two 
countries for war purposes. Without having declared war, Turkey, 
in October, attacked a Russian fort on the Black Sea and destroyed 
French and Russian vessels at Odessa. Whereupon, Russia declared 
war upon Turkey. Soon after Great Britain and France declared 
war upon Turkey. 

With the entrance of Turkey into the conflict, Germany hoped for 
a religious war, which did not materialize. Germany hoped further 
that Turkey would keep Russia engaged. 

Germany, unable to furnish naval protection for the Pacific pos- 
sessions, lost all of them in the first four months of the war. This 
loss robbed her of coaling stations and interrupted her plans to make 
war on Allied commerce by means of fast cruisers. Germany had 
hoped that the Boers in South Africa would take up arms against 
Great Britain, but in this they were disappointed, for the Boers 
promptly joined their mother country in the effort to capture Ger- 
many's colonies in Africa. The struggle continued for three years. 
The last of the colonies, German East Africa, surrendered in De- 
cember of 1917- 

Some Naval Activity 

At the opening of the war, Germany's fleet, built up at a cost of 
a billion and a half dollars, was hardly two-thirds as strong as the 
British fleet. The design of the German navy must be to so weaken 



4i8 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

the British fleet that it could not assure safety to EngUsh trade in 
munitions or suppHes, nor protect transportation of troops from Eng- 
land or her colonies to the various fronts. 

Two definite tasks faced the British navy. The German fleet must 
be bottled up in port; and such portions of it as were some distance 
from home must be searched out and destroyed before they could 
get out and destroy British commerce. After a review of the Brit- 
ish Grand Fleet in July, 19 14. the fleet was at once assigned to the 
first of these tasks. 

These two strong belligerents adopted the same plan for the de- 
fense of their respective sea coasts — that of laying fields of mines, 
so placed that they would float in the sea just under the water and 
so arranged as to explode on contact with the hull of a ship. Cer- 
tain open channels were reserved through these fields of mines for 
such traffic as was welcome and could be advised of the safe route 
to be followed. 

The first conflict between any portions of the two navies occurred 
August 28, 1914, in the waters between the German coast and the 
Island of Helgoland, a distance of eighteen miles. Two destroy- 
ers and three cruisers were lost to the German contenders, and 
although every British vessel returned to port, some were badly bat- 
tered. A German fleet that was in China, and which slipped out of 
port a few days before the outbreak of war, did considerable damage 
before being disposed of by the British navy. 

By the close of 1914, thanks to the etTorts of the British navy, the 
German navy was bottled up in ports back of their mine fields, German 
merchant ships were afraid to hazard trips out of neutral ports, and 
commerce raiders were made ineft'ective. 

The War in 1915 

Compared with actions in previous wars, some of the engagements 
during the year 191 5 might be considered as major events, yet no 
material advantage accrued to either side during this year. The 
Germans introduced poison gas; which inspired the invention of the 
gas mask as a measure of protection. Later the Allies adopted the 
use of gas in bombs and shells in order to fight the Germans with 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 419 

their own medicine. The use of Hquid fire by the Germans proved 
almost as dangerous to the one who employed it as to the enemy. 

During the month of February the campaign of Gallipoli opened, 
with its objective the capture of Constantinople. Here the Allies 
lost heavily in a siege which lasted practically all year and termi- 
nated with discouraging results. 

Though Przemysl was captured by the Russians in March, the 
Russians were involved in a disastrous campaign in East Prussia, 
in which they lost 100,000 prisoners in addition to 150,000 killed and 
wounded, against a German army commanded by Von Hindenburg. 

When Germany and Austria assumed the offensive a general re- 
treat of the Russian armies in Galicia and Poland was made neces- 
sary. Przemysl and Lemberg were recaptured, and 65,000 square 
miles of thickly-populated territory in Russian Poland were captured 
by the Central Powers. 

Prejudiced by past events, Bulgaria entered the conflict by declar- 
ing war upon Serbia, thus definitely taking her stand as an ally of the 
Central Powers. Timing an invasion of Serbia with another by 
Austria the countries of Serbia and Montenegro were not only con- 
quered, but horrible cruelties were inflicted upon the population. 

On the eastern front the year of 191 5 had been a year of failure. 
The Gallipoli campaign had been a humiliation for the Allies. The 
Russians had been driven from Russian Poland and from the Aus- 
trian province of Galicia. Bulgaria had joined the Central Powers, 
linking Austria-Hungary with Turkey. Serbia, the country whose 
quarrel had been the occasion of the whole world struggle, had been 
conquered by the enemies of the Allies. 

Italy entered the war in May, 191 5, with a declaration of hostili- 
ties against Austria, and a year later extended it to include Germany. 
Three reasons prompted this action : ( i ) . Her old enmity toward 
Austria; (2) her desire to annex the neighboring territory inhabit- 
ed by Italians, but ruled by Austria; and (3) her feeling that Aus- 
tria was opposed to the interests of Italy in the Balkans. 

Geographical conditions favored Austria, but Italy pursued her 
course with vigor. Well protected mountain passes protected the 



420 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Austrians, yet by December Italy occupied positions well within the 
Austrian frontier. 

During the year 191 5 the Allies continued to control the sea and 
make more effective the blockade against Germany. Restriction of 
commerce affected the trade of the United States with Germany, and 
with neutral nations, who, it was suspected, were in turn supplying, 
goods to Germany. This course on the part of England drew forth 
protests from America and resulted in a course of correspondence 
that continued until this country entered the war. Because of trans- 
shipments made by neutral countries to Germany the blockade was 
enforced against neutrals as well as belligerents. 

Germany, skeptical as to the usefulness of the submarine, purchased 
only four of these craft when the war began. The sinking of three 
British cruisers demonstrated the value of them, and though they 
were powerless against properly-armed vessels it was realized that 
they would be effective against merchant ships. Before long num- 
bers of them were placed in the waters around the British Isles. 
Larger ships which were sent to sea were protected against subma- 
rines by patrols of lighter and faster crafts and by great nets made 
of heavy wire cables. 

In the spirit of retaliation, Germany declared a blockade of the 
British Isles. Yet because she could not convey captured neutral 
ships to German ports the submarines would sink them. The United 
States and all neutrals protested against any policy which would 
disregard the lives of the people on board ships so attacked. 

Then, on May 7, 191 5, occurred the sinking of the Lusitania, with 
the loss of twelve hundred lives, many of them women and children. 
Of the number one hundred and fourteen were Americans. 

The German campaign of frightfulness was furthered by coast 
raids upon the defenseless towns of Yarmouth, Whitby, and Scar- 
borough, where no military ends were accomplished, though hun- 
dreds of old men, women, and children were killed or wounded. The 
German hope in this campaign was that this reign of terror would 
create a clamor for peace. A German squadron which attempted 
such a raid in January, 191 5, was overtaken and defeated by British 
war ships. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 421 

Immense dirigible balloons, known as Zeppelins, that had been 
used for observation and for dropping bombs on Antwerp, were now 
sent over England to create terror among the inhabitants of defense- 
less towns. Up to October, 1917, there were thirty-four such raids, 
resulting in the death of nearly one thousand persons and wounding 
three times as many. Instead of creating a demand for peace these 
raids only increased the determination of the British to overcome 
their enemies. 

Retaliatiory raids, into Germany, directed mainly against railroad 
and munitions factories, brought forth a demand that air raids on 
places not in the military area should be stopped, so that the Ger- 
man cities should not be bombed in retaliation. 

England came to the conclusion that the war, in conformity with 
the prediction of Lord Kitchener, was to be of long duration, and 
began to prepare accordingly, both in the overseas dominions, and 
in the mother country. 

The War in 1916 

With twenty thousand men on each mile of the front for a distance 
of twenty-five miles, Germany prepared to attempt the capture of 
Verdun, one of the most strategic positions, and thereby demonstrate 
that the German army was invincible. A struggle which began in 
February continued until July. A bitter fire of artillery, machine 
guns, and rifles mowed down the Germans like grain; yet reenforce- 
ments continued to face the slaughter. The French battle cry, "They 
shall not pass," was ever the inspiration of the defenders who suffer- 
ed terribly. Germany lost a half million men before her leaders de- 
cided to abandon this campaign. 

Before the issue of this conflict was determined the French and 
British took the offensive along the Somme River in July, driving 
the Germans back on a front of twenty miles to a maximum depth of 
about nine miles. The aggressors did not succeed in making a break 
in the enemy line, but pushed it back. This proved a relief to the 
Verdun sector for it attracted part of the German army to the west. 
At this stage of the conflict British tanks were first introduced. (E. L. 
Gr^en of Storm Lake took part in this action.) 



422 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Aircraft became constantly more useful in the prosecution of the 
war, not only for observation and photography, but for battle and 
bombing uses. The development of this adjunct of warfare was 
more rapid than that of any other agency or implement. 

Russia made a successful campaign in Armenia in the earlv montlis 
of 1916, inflicting serious defeats upon the Turkish forces, with the 
ultimate result of preventing them from making an invasion of 
Egypt. On the whole, this campaign was a very serious blow to the 
power of Turkey in Asia Minor. 

The English had less success in a campaign in Mesopotamia when, 
after a campaign in the year 191 5, forces and supplies failed to reach 
General Townshend in time and he was compelled to surrender at 
Kut-el-Amar, about 100 miles below Bagdad, on April 29, 1916. 

General Brusilov led an army of Russians into a successful inva- 
sion of Austria-Hungary, capturing hundreds of thousands of Aus- 
trian prisoners and causing Austria to transfer troops from the Ital- 
ian front. The year of 1916 closed with the Russians in a decidedly 
more favorable military position than they had occupied a year before. 

Roumania had long hoped for the annexation of the territory 
known as Transylvania, in southeastern Austria, where lived two 
million Roumanian speaking people. Encouraged by promises from 
Russia, Roumania entered the war in August, 1916. Her western 
front was impregnable. But danger lay between the Danube and 
the Black Sea. Instead of planning for a defense here she sent her 
armies into Transylvania. After her armies were a long way from 
the base of supplies an arm}^ of Germans and Bulgarians marched 
into Roumania through Dobrudja, in the southeastern corner and 
marched north in a resistless offensive. A shortage of ammunition 
probably caused by the failure of certain pro-German Russian offi- 
cials to cooperate with the Roumanians as they had promised, con- 
tributed to the downfall of the Roumanian forces. Germany forced 
herself in until she practically occupied the country, cutting off a 
long battle front and acquiring valuable oil and wheat fields. 

Hardships on the Italian front during the winter of 1915-1916 
were made unusually severe by abnormally cold weather conditions. 
Snow laying thirty feet deep on some mountain tops made military 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 423 

operations quite impossible. Austria assembled nearly 400,000 men 
and vast supplies to push into Italy in a spring offensive. During 
May and June, 1916, their efforts were successful, and Austria ad- 
vanced dangerously close to the rich regions of the Po River but was 
compelled to retire to defend an offensive begun by Russia on the 
eastern frontier. 

With Trieste as the objective, Italy began an advance across the 
Isonzo River, then after months of struggle took the city and fortress 
of Gorizia on August 9, 1916, and continued on to Trieste. 

The British and German navies met in a battle off Jutland, the pen- 
insula of Denmark, on May 31, 1916. After battling all day the 
British fleet was reenforced. But when the Germans became aware 
of the fact that the British fleet was strengthened they retired be- 
behind the defense of mines and shore batteries. The issue of that 
conflict was never decided. Both fleets lost heavily. 

Submarine activities and sinkings increased during 19 16, but the 
facts concerning this part of the war are more fully told in the chap- 
ter on diplomatic negotiations. Out of a total of nearly 4,000,000 
tons of shipping destroyed from the beginning of the war to January, 
191 7, more than half was lost during 191 6. 

Great Britain, which had been depending upon volunteer enlist- 
ments, now found that in order to raise the necessary five million men 
she must resort to the selective service system. This country met 
with a new source of contention from an organization known as the 
Sinn Fein, composed of the more radical of the home rule party in 
Ireland. Promised assistance by Germany, the Sinn Fein opened a 
rebellion April 24, 1916. It was soon put down and Sir Roger Case- 
ment, one of the leaders, was executed for treason. 

The War in 1917 

Infantry activity was comparatively light during the winter of 
1916-1917, but an unsuppressed fire was maintained by heavy artil- 
lery. The spring plans of the Allies contemplated a great drive in 
the region of the Somme River, but a general retirement of the Ger- 
mans in March to what was known as the Hindenburg line carried 
them back to a point one hundred miles in length between Arras and 



424 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Soissons. During this retirement the Germans destroyed towns, 
buildings, and orchards, leaving a terribly desolate waste, but aban- 
doning a territory of thirteen hundred square miles. 

British and French troops followed hard upon this retreat. Cana- 
dian troops took Vimy Ridge on April 9th. The pursuit was not a 
mere occupation of abandoned territory, but the French and British 
became aggressive on more than one occasion, in the course of the 
campaign capturing 50,000 prisoners, together with large quantities 
of munitions. Territorial gains were made during the summer and 
fall by Allied armies. Heavy artillery fire became almost constant. 
It was during this campaign when, for three weeks, the French city 
of Rheims was bombarded with German guns which fired 65,000 
large calibre shells and inflicted seemingly irreparable damage on the 
magnificent cathedral of that city. 

The capture of two ridges known as Chemin des Dames and Pas- 
schendaele constituted two important triumphs of this action, and 
was made possible because the artillery was able to mount advanta- 
geous positions. The French forced a retreat of the Germans over 
a thirteen-mile front. (E. L. Greene, of Storm Lake, took part in 
this action.) 

In October the first American combat troops entered the lines in 
the quiet Luneville sector. The First Division, Regular Army, had 
the honor of being the first in line. 

The First Division 

Written by Glenn E. Clabaugh, Company C, Sixteenth Infantry : 

The First Division landed in France June 26, 1917. For months 
they were put through the hardest kind of training with the help of 
the French Alpine Chasseurs, or "Blue Devils." 

About the middle of October, 191 7, the first battalion of each regi- 
ment was ordered to the trenches in the Toul sector for a ten-days' 
stay, thereafter to be relieved by the second battalion of the four 
regiments, and they in turn were relieved by the remaining bat- 
talions. 

This was known as a quiet sector, just the place to break in fresh 
troops. It was cold and wet and very disagreeable on the night we 
were to relieve the French. We were ordered not to make a sound 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 425 

so for two kilometers we hiked along, whispering- our only conver- 
sation; but when we reached the place we found the French talking 
away, making more noise than a machine gun itself. For ten days 
we passed through what I believe was the hardest experience of all 
because all the time the Germans kept firing over us to our back area. 

I don't believe that the first two or three nights a snake could have 
crawled through our lines without being riddled with bullets. 

It was at this time that the first American artillery was let loose. 
Then we felt safe, because we were confident that our Fifth, Sixth, 
and Seventh Field Artillery had all the French or any other artillery 
cheated. The second battalion of the i6th were not so lucky as we 
were, for they lost the first American lives and gave the first prison- 
ers — but they also received the first French War Cross. Not being 
with them I can not tell the story otherwise than it was told in the 
regiment. 

The Huns had undermined our wire entanglements and at a cer- 
tain time they laid down a box barrage so fierce that it was impossible 
to get any help to the boys thus inclosed. But they put up a grand 
scrap against odds that were too strong — about two hundred Huns 
against that handful of Americans. The Germans paid a heavy 
price for every American life they took and the prisoners they cap- 
tured, as the German dead numbered large, besides the ammunition 
they wasted. It was a German failure, this, the first German-Ameri- 
can engagement of the war. 

New means of aggressive action, brought into use by the British, 
made it possible to make an attack with less preliminary action. The 
plan of attack up to this time had been to precede infantry attack with 
long bombardments, which would of course give the enemy some idea 
of what to expect. Now the English sent over a large number of 
tanks, which broke down barbed wire entanglements and brought 
about a new force with which to contend in trench fighting. It was 
through the advantage of such an attack that the British successfully 
surprised the Germans in the battle of Cambrai, November 20th to 
December 13th. 

A general review of steadily increasing accomplishments in air- 
craft battle service will be of interest. The more successful of the 
airplane pilots were designated as aces. A distinguished Frence 
ace, who suffered death on September nth, was credited with the de- 
struction of fifty-four enemy machines. As the number of machines 



426 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

in use increased they were formed into escadrilles, or companies, of 
varying numbers, sometimes being over one hundred. In 1916, as 
many as 611 enemy machines were destroyed or damaged by Alhed 
forces. In one period of fwenty-four hours in 191 7, forty-three air- 
planes were destroyed by the French; while in another combat the 
British brought down thirty-one enemy planes. German planes to 
the number of 339 were destroyed by the Allies in one week in 19 18. 
A single bombing expedition sent out October 9, 1918, by the Ameri- 
can army numbered 350 airplanes in the flight. 

Russia Fails the Allies 

Early in 191 7, Russia failed the Allies. In withdrawing from the 
conflict the Allied cause was for the time greatly weakened. A long 
suppressed desire on the part of certain groups to overthrow the 
Czar and his autocratic government now came to the front with in- 
sistence that a more representative system of government be adopted. 
Many conflicting ideas were brought forward. The Czar establish- 
ed the Duma as a representative body, but even it lacked the power 
to meet the hopes of the people. German intrigue was ever pres- 
ent to weaken the unity and strength of the Russian Government and 
found receptive spirits among corrupt Russian officials. Shortage 
of food added to the discontent caused assemblages of the populace, 
which were difficult to suppress. Out of all this developed the Rus- 
sian Revolution. Soldiers and workingmen made a direct demand 
upon the Duma for a representative government. Nicholas II was 
informed that he was deposed : even army leaders were informed that 
they must take orders from the representatives of the people. The 
insurrection against the old government went so far that some of the 
soldiers joined the revolutionists. 

Following the abdication of the Czar on March 15th, a new gov- 
ernment, with moderate reformers in the several departments, was 
recognized by the United States, Great Britain, France, and Italy. 
Hope prevailed that the government would thus be stabilized and 
continue in support of the Allied cause. Officials went so far as to 
call elections in the several Russian provinces to elect delegates to an 
assembly which should make a new constitution for Russia. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 427 

But the more extreme socialists were hard to satisfy. Composed 
of men who owned practically no property this party began an agi- 
tation for the equal distribution of all wealth. Kerensky, the hope 
of the stabilizing influences, promised to be a strong man, but later 
proved unable to control the extremists. German intrigue persis- 
ted in an effort to cultivate among the soldiers the belief that Ger- 
many was their best friend. Kerensky combatted this propaganda 
with speeches made at the front to the armies, and for a time the sol- 
diers were kept in the spirit which inspired military successes against 
the Germans and Austrians, with a promise of the recapture of Lem- 
berg. Shortage of ammunition and the rapid spread of peace senti- 
ment among the troops caused disorganization in the army with the 
consequent retreat from Galicia. The Bolsheviki, the party of the 
extreme socialists, drove Kerensky from Petrograd on November 
7th, vmder the leadership of Lenine and Trotzky, whose efforts were 
supported with large sums of money made available by Germany. 

Upon securing control of afifairs the Bolsheviki made known their 
desire for an immediate peace. They favored the division of the 
land among the peasants. The newly-elected constitutional assem- 
bly was not extreme enough to suit the ideas of the Bolsheviki and 
was adjourned before it could accomplish anything. Lenine and 
Trotzky were wielding the scepter of power as arbitrarily as any 
Czar. An immediate armistice with Germany was arranged to take 
efifect December 7th. This agreement did not stop the Germans 
from their determination to overrun Russia, for they continued to 
press on from Riga which they had captured in September. 

Though denied the cooperation of Russia as contemplated for the 
campaign in Mesopotamia, the British began in January, 191 7, an 
ofifensive which was rewarded by the capture of Bagdad on March 
nth, from the Turks. Another military success was recorded by 
the British in Asia. Efforts of the Turks to seize the Suez Canal, 
and thus to cut off British communication with the Far East, was 
countered with an ofifensive in that region which began early in 191 7. 
Up the Sinai Peninsula the British marched and against powerful 
resistance from the Turks made slow progress north through Pales- 
tine, sufifering occasional reverses. Operations were started during 



428 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

the period of excessive heat, but in the fall the British continued their 
progress through the Holy Land, and on December loth. General 
Allenby captured the historical city of Jerusalem. 

General rejoicing was felt that Jerusalem was again in the hands 
of a Christian nation after seven centuries of Turkish control. The 
accomplishment renewed the hope of Jews for the reestablishment of 
a Jewish nation in Palestine. Its most important military signifi- 
cance was that it freed the Suez Canal from hazard. 

Italy was, in 191 7, still pursuing her campaign for the capture of 
Trieste, which was only eleven miles beyond their most advanced 
lines. It seemed that a two-years' campaign was to make possible 
the incorporation of Trieste into the Italian kingdom. However, 
large Austrian forces, relieved from duty in the east by the collapse 
of the Russian offensive, returned to the Italian front. Germany, 
facing reverses on the western front, was anxious to improve the 
morale of her troops by making a better military showing on the 
Italian front. Austrians and Germans united to crush the Italian 
forces which were extended over a semi-circular front of 150 miles. 
Austrian forces controlled the mountain passes, so that they could 
attack this time where they would. German divisions assumed the 
ofifensive on an already weakened front. 

In a drive during the last three months of 191 7, the Austro-Ger- 
man army drove the Italians back from Gorizia, recaptured moun- 
tain positions which had formerly been taken by the Italians at enor- 
mous cost, and caused heavy loss of men and materials. Italy was 
spared the loss of Venice only by the arrival of British and French 
assistance. The final stand was made by the Italians along the 
Piave River. 

Meanwhile, the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare by Ger- 
many with its consequent offense against neutrals was gradually 
drawing the United States into war. Soon after this country de- 
clared its stand, Brazil and other South American countries either 
broke off relations with Germany or declared war against her. 

Argentine experienced a striking example of German treacher}^ 
While Argentine was at peace with Germany the German ambassa- 
dor at Buenos Aires communicated to his government a wish that 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 429 

Argentine ships might be spared from submarine attack; but, if not, 
he suggested that they be sunk without leaving any trace — as ex- 
pressed in German, "Spurlos Versenkt." This could not be accom- 
plished without drowning and murdering the crews. Sweden was 
involved in this vicious proceeding, for it was through connivance 
with the Swedish minister that the message was forwarded in cipher 
over allied cables. 

The War in 1918 

An effort to reach an agreement of peace, in which the initiative 
was taken by Germany, is covered in the chapter on "Diplomatic Ne- 
gotiations." Alertness of military forces was not relaxed during 
the period of diplomatic correspondence, and when it resulted in fail- 
ure to arrive at a basis of peace all was in readiness for the continu- 
ance of the bitter struggle. 

Russia was the only country whose conduct was affected by the 
peace move. Through the Bolshevist leaders who were in control 
of the government, armistice with the Central Powers was negoti- 
ated. Consequently all fighting was stopped along the eastern front, 
making thousands of German soldiers available to fight in the west. 

Difficulties were experienced in arriving at a basis for a peace 
treaty even after the armistice was signed. The peace council was 
in session at Brest-Litovsk, a town in Russian Poland, from December 
23, 1917, to February 10, 1918. Germany's demand to be permitted 
to keep parts of Russia which she occupied was resisted by Russia 
to the point that Germany finally opened military operations to en- 
force her demands. Finally, Levine and Trotzky, Bolshevist lead- 
ers, acceded to German occupation ; but, in spite of that, German forces 
advanced to within seventy miles of Petrograd. 

Unsettled conditions were further aggravated by the rebellion of 
the people of Ukrania, in the southwestern corner of Russia, and of 
Finland, in the northwest corner, against the Bolshevist Government. 
Prompted by hopes of securing material resources in these territo- 
ries, Germany encouraged them in their rebellion. However, Ger- 
man control was not acceptable to the people, and this state of mind 
interfered with Germany's realization of her hopes. 

On March 3d, a treaty was finally signed at Brest-Litovsk between 



430 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Russia and the Central Powers, by the terms of which Russia was 
compelled to surrender her western provinces of Poland, Lithuania, 
Livonia, Esthonia, and Courland; to recognize the independence of 
Ukrania and Finland; to cede to Turkey certain important districts 
south of the Caucasian Mountains ; and to pay a tremendous indemnity. 

The insincerity of Germany in her talk of "no annexations and no 
indemnities" was now evident. More humiliating acquiesence in 
treaty demands has seldom been forced upon a vanquished nation. 
It has been estimated that the treaties of Brest-Litovsk took from 
Russia 4 per cent of her total area, 26 per cent of her population, 37 
per cent of her foodstuffs production, 26 per cent of her railways, 
33 per cent of her manufacturing industries, 75 per cent of her coal, 
and ^2^ P^i" cent of her iron. 

With the moral and military support of Russia lost, Roumania 
made peace in the spring of 1918, with considerable loss of terri- 
tory. She ceded to the enemy the whole of the Dobrudja and also 
about 3,000 square miles of territory on her western frontier. The 
Central Powers gained material supplies by lieing given control of 
Roumania's extensive petroleum fields and rich wheat fields. Rou- 
mania was later strengthened by the annexation of the Russian pro- 
vince of Bessarabia, populated by people of the Roumanian race. 
This was accomplished without force and by the voluntary action of 
Bessarabia. 

Hopeful that with some assistance Russia could solve the prob- 
lems of the divergence of political feelings in her widespread pro- 
vinces the United States and the other Allies continued to regard 
Russia as a friendly nation. Serious complications presented them- 
selves in the presence of an army of Czecho-Slovaks in the country. 
These soldiers, native of the northwestern provinces of Austria- 
Hungary, had originally fought in the Austrian army and had been 
taken prisoners in the successful campaign which Russia had made 
in Galicia. Their fighting for Austria wasnot altogether voluntary, 
for their sympathies were with the Allied countries. After peace 
was signed with Germany and Austria, fearing that they would 
be called back to Austria, the Czecho-Slovak armies secured permis- 
sion from the Bolshevik government to travel eastward through Rus- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 431 

sia and Siberia to the Pacific, with the plan to ultimately take ship 
to a point where they could join the armies of the Allies. The per- 
mission to travel through the country was suddenly withdrawn, pre- 
sumably at the demand of the German influences, but the Czecho- 
slovaks, persistent in their course, were compelled to occasionally 
combat Bolshevist troops, which in turn were assisted by German 
and Austrian prisoners. Anti-Bolshevik Russians gave the Czecho- 
slovaks assistance which enabled them to seize control of most of 
the Siberian Railroad, and of parts of eastern Russia. 

The United States and the Allies, deciding upon a course of mili- 
tary intervention in Russia, placed an army of American and Japa- 
nese troops on the east coast of Siberia to cooperate witth the Czecho- 
slovaks. With this assistance at hand the latter abandoned any 
plan to leave Russia, with the hope that they could aid the Allied 
cause where they were. On the northern coast of Russia another 
Allied force began operations against the Bolsheviki, which by this 
time was conducting a campaign of pillage, murder, and rapine. 
When larg'e districts north and east of Moscow declared themselves 
free of Bolshevik rule new hopes for a democratic Russia were con- 
ceived. (Anton Jonas, of Storm Lake, was in this Siberian action.) 

From the Philippines to Siberia 

Written by Theodore Nielsen of Alta, Company F, Twenty-seventh 
Infantry, Twenty-eighth Division. 

Nielson enlisted in Company F of the Twenty-seventh Infantry as 
a private on January 18, 1918, and was first stationed at Fort Mc- 
Dowell. His company sailed for Manila on February 5th and land- 
ed on March 8th. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant. From 
the time that he reached Manila he had many exciting experiences. 
He tells in his own words the story of his experience in Sibeiria. 
Speaking of his training at Manila he says : 

There started my soldiering career as a soldier of the great war, 
not knowing that on the seventh of August we would sail for Siberia. 
We arrived at Vladivostok on the fifteenth, and after a two days' 
stay we started northwest on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, taking up 
railroad guard duty at Ragedonia until August 22d. We were then 



432 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

again moved north to Svaggano where owing to Bolshevik activities 
we were forced to leave the railroad and start hiking in heavy march- 
ing order through the swamps of Siberia to some place where we 
could again proceed on the railroad. The Japanese cavalry fur- 
nished our advance guard, keeping the enemy well under control, but 
rain caused impassible roads. Trouble with the heavy wagons, long 
hikings, and expected attacks made life miserable. However, none 
came and the Japanese airplanes hovering overhead gave us assur- 
ance of no ambush. 

Thus we continued through muddy swamps and seemingly un- 
ceasing rains for six days, finally arriving at Usuria on the banks 
of the river of the same name, a distance of ninety miles from our 
starting point. Footsore, weary and ragged, a sorry looking skele- 
ton regiment was the Twenty-seventh. 

After a two days' rest more men from the States arrived, bringing 
each company to war strength. But conditions were still tough, as 
the month of September in Siberia brings frosty mornings and sleep- 
ing on the damp ground with only pup tents over one is not agree- 
able. However, we did not fare so bad, as we were soon ordered to 
our train for Habarousk to receive reenforcements and get located 
for the winter. The city has a population of 50,000, and was not 
very interesting except as an example of a Far Eastern city. On the 
outskirts of the city we found huge brick barracks, with room enough 
for thousands of soldiers. We took quarters on the south, and the 
Japs and Cossacks were in other parts of the town. 

IN ACTION 

Our next move was to Ipasskoe where v.'c stayed for two weeks. 
We were then ordered to march out and take the supposedly Bol- 
shevik heights of Upspanko. On the night of June 9, 1919, we de- 
trained at Smakofka, camping in pup tents along the railroad until 
the morning of the tenth. We then started in heavy marching or- 
der for our objective, Upspanko. A very high spirited bunch of 
men were the three platoons of F Company under the command of 
Major Wallace and assisted by our own Captain Killian. The rest 
of the company was dropped at a station a few miles south of Sma- 
kofka called Krienske. Twenty-three men, commanded by Lieu- 
tenant Rick, were dropped as a guard against railroad attack as the 
company advanced on their objective. It was found that the roads 
being impassable, a detour must be made, coming into the town from 
the rear instead of marching direct. After plodding along for twelve 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 433 

weary miles we finally stopped at a Russian monastery for the night, 
finding fair quarters in a barn. 

At 5 130 the next morning we were on our way, passing through 
a little village whose inhabitants thought we were Cecho-Slovak 
troops. We halted at noon in a woods where a much needed rest and 
a fine dinner was had. While we were eating an enemy patrol was 
sighted a quarter of a mile away on the hills, so after resting some 
our march was resumed. 

We had only fairly started when our advance patrol signaled the 
sight of the enemy outpost, but we continued on our way. After a 
short rest we started out again, weary and hot. We were startled 
by the sharp crack of a lone rifle followed by a burst of rifle fire over 
our heads. The lone shot, the first fired by us, was the work of 
Corporal Murphy of the advance patrol firing on the retreating ene- 
my's outpost. Never having been under rifle fire before, it was cer- 
tainly a funny sensation. The Major shouted, "Down, and out of 
the road," which was unnecessary as everybody was already down 
as close to the earth as they could get. 

The enemy was holding a position on top of a hill about fifteen 
hundred yards from our left front, and there was a small detachment on 
our right rear that poured a heavy rifle fire, mostly over our heads. 
But after our automatic rifles got the range the enemy was soon dis- 
persed, leaving several dead and wounded behind. The firing last- 
ed about twenty minutes, and judging from the amount of steel and 
lead coming over our heads we estimated that enemy to be about 250 
strong. When we were able to look around after the firing ceased 
we found that good fortune had followed us as we had only five wound- 
ed, one seriously and the others slightly. It took quite a while to 
get squared around, and after getting twelve prisoners pumped of 
information and the guard out, night was coming on. We tried for 
a few winks of sleep, but the second platoon was ordered to take the 
town of Upspanko, still two miles away. 

At 2 o'clock in the morning the second platoon moved forward to- 
ward the town expecting resistance at every step, but finding none, 
took possession of the town at 4 o'clock. A few enemy stragglers 
were shot and some killed while running through the streets. We 
camped on a hill by the church overlooking the river and nothing of 
interest occurred other than the receipt of a few notes from the ene- 
my asking why we fired on them and advising us to return to the 
railroad. We did this on the fifteenth, starting at 5 :30 a. m., and 
after a twelve-mile hike arrived at Krieske. When we reached the 
railroad we learned that our small detachment at Krieske had been 



434 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

attacked by i8o Bolsheviki, and after an hour of hot work had dis- 
persed the enemy. They lost one man killed and one wounded. 

After a few days' rest the company was again split up into four de- 
tachments, and for three months we were on duty guarding the rail- 
road. Then came the orders to prepare to return to the good old 
U. S. A. We left Vladivostok October 7th at 8 o'clock in the morn- 
ing, and landed at Hong Kong, China, October nth. We left on 
the I2th, and landed at Manila on the morning of the 14th; we left 
Manila on the i6th and landed at Honolulu on the 26th. We ar- 
rived in 'Frisco on the ist of November, and I got my discharge on 
the 3d. 

Germany's renewal of military operations, after her peace pro- 
posals had failed to meet any acceptance, contemplated a vigorous 
and harsh offensive to the west. She sought to enforce conditions 
that were not accepable to the Allies by choice. Confident that the 
United States could not get any large number of troops to France 
before 1918, she was anxious to crush France before assistance 
would be available. With that accomplished, the plan was to con- 
tinue into England and overwhelm that country. 

New miliary tactics were developed, and confident that they would 
be effective, German military leaders determined to stake their all 
upon this offensive. Confident of superior numbers, they planned 
three new methods which were expected to be effective. The first 
of these contemplated more of a surprise attack than had been pos- 
sible with the use of the immense barrages previously used, which 
in themselves announced the attack. Men were moved to the front 
by night marches, hidden in the woods, beneath smoke screens, and 
various sundry means of camouflage. When the zero hour arrived 
they were then able to attack opposing trenches quickly and unex- 
pectedly. Artillery of large caliber and in greater numbers was as- 
sembled, to throw destructive shell-fire upon the roads and supply 
routes behind the opposing army, as well as against the trenches. 
Highways, railways, and bridges were thus to be destroyed to the 
rear of the Allied lines. Smothering "mustard" gas was discharged 
in large shells to incapacitate reserves, motor transport drivers, and 
even the horses and mules used in transport service, By this means 
the Allied forces would be so confused that they could not effectively 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 435 

concentrate their forces. The third new plan was to organize a se- 
quence of "shock troops" to proceed in waves, each to reheve the 
preceding wave when that one became exhausted or thinned out. 
The ultimate hope was to separate the British from the French army, 
to seize English Channel ports and interrupt the transportation of 
troops and supplies from England to France, and by the capture of 
Paris compel France to withdraw from the war. Subsequent events 
will show why the Germans failed to realize these aims. 

The battle of Picardy, between March 21st and July 15th, was di- 
rected toward the first of the three previously stated objects. Near 
the Somme River was the union of British and French. Here the 
surprise attack netted considerable territory before French assist- 
ance could be secured. With odds against them of three to one, the 
British fell back, the point of greatest retreat being thirty miles 
back of their former lines. Danger to the French city of Amiens 
caused the British and French to stand firm. Early in 1918, a num- 
ber of American divisions entered the lines, in quiet sectors, for 
"Baptism of fire" and final training in preparation for impending 
offensives or combat work. 

Trench Warfare 

Written by Fred J. Robinson, Company M, One Hundred Sixty- 
eighth Infantry, Forty-second Division : 

On the night of February 21, 19 18, at 10 o'clock, we left the town 
of Baccarat where we had been in training for the front lines. Our 
battalion was assigned to the support, or second line. This line ran 
through the village of Pexonne, where we were located, and was 
about three kilometers from the front lines. This line was prac- 
tically out of range of rifle fire, but well inside of artillery range. 

The sector was known as a quiet sector. Both the French and 
the enemy had been using this sector for training recruits and to rest 
men of the older outfits who might be enjoying relief. The activity 
on this front consisted mostly of artillery engagements, with an oc- 
casional raid. There had been no material change in this line since 
the first year of the war. Our division was stationed on this front 
for 125 days without reHef. 

On the night of March 8th our battalion received orders to move 



436 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

up to the front line trench to reheve the first battaUon. Just at the 
edge of the village of Badonvillers we entered the communicating 
trench in single file and about eight feet apart. This communicat- 
ing trench was dug in a zig zag line so that the enemy could not fire 
through the length of the trench. It was about the same depth as 
that on the front line, five to six feet, and not much more than wide 
enough for a man to walk through. We reached the front line in 
about an hour and a half. No lights whatever were allowed, and 
no smoking now. The front line trench was arranged in a zig zag 
line, with narrow trenches dug forward at short distances for post 
guards and as listening posts. Two of us would be on guard in 
these outposts for two hours at a time, then relieved for two hours, 
and so on for the twenty-four hours. Sometimes when the outpost 
was fairly close to the enemy lines we could hear them talk. But 
hardly ever did we get to see any of the enemy, excepting in the 
early morning when we could see them away ofif in the distance 
against the sky line back of their lines. In front of the trench was 
strung barbed wire to guard against a surprise attack. Our two 
hours off guard were spent in dug-outs. These were cut into the 
front sides of the trench on a slant, with an opening like an outside 
cellar door. They were cut down from ten to fifteen feet below the 
surface of the ground and were comparatively safe excepting from 
our own shell fire dropping short, which happened occasionally. The 
dug-outs were about eight feet wide, eighteen feet long, and nine 
feet high. Bunks built in three tiers would accommodate fifteen to 
twenty men. 

Our first night in the front lines and until noon of the next day 
was particularly quiet. Hardly a shot could be heard, excepting at 
a great distance. Shortly after noon our artillery put over a bar- 
rage for four hours in preparation for a large raid which our com- 
pany and Company F and three French companies were to make. 
The zero hour was 5 :05 p. m. Promptly at the time specified we 
climbed out of our trenches on ladders, formed our lines, and started 
advancing toward the German lines. The Germans were giving us 
heavy artillery and machine gun fire; the latter coming principally 
from three aeroplanes just over vis at a height of about one hundred 
yards. We had been advancing twenty minutes when a machine 
gun bullet from one of the aeroplanes struck my left arm. The 
hole went through on a slant from above. The wound was not 
painful or serious enough to keep me from advancing with the rest 
of the outfit. After taking the second line of German trenches we 
returned to our own trenches. In the meanwhile the three enemy 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 437 

aeroplanes had been dropped b}^ the American fire. In the whole ad- 
vance the only Germans I saw were the men on the three aeroplanes. 
Our two companies, however, captured three Germans during the 
raid. We returned to our trench a little after 6 o'clock. Upon our 
arrival there the sergeant of our platoon applied first aid bandages 
to my arm. At 10 o'clock we were relieved and I was sent to the 
hospital. 

So far as action was concerned our time in the Luneville sector 
does not compare with later actions, but nevertheless I believe that 
most of us will remember it about as much as any other. 

A Close Shave 

Charles V. Gilchrist, Company M, One Hundred Sixty-Eighth 
Regiment, a Lee Township soldier, puts more valuation upon time 
than most doughboys. He barely escaped death by one minute, just 
sixty seconds by the clock, while on the Lorraine front in May, 1918. 

"I was on guard duty one day," says Charles in the Des Moines 
Register and Leader, "when another fellow in the company relieved 
me from duty. I had just stepped from the post and he took my 
place, when over came a shell and killed him instantly. I had just 
been gone a minute from my post." 

Private Gilchrist was detained as a patient at Fort Des Moines 
after returning to this country. 

Unity oe Command 

Now it became apparent that a unified command would be essen- 
tial in governing the movements of the Allies ; whereupon the French 
General Foch was designated for the important station as comman- 
der-in-chief of Allied forces. Even before this General Pershing 
had ofifered the American army of 200,000 men to be used wherever 
it would be most effective. 

The British were the victims of the second assault, made this 
time in Flanders, farther to the north, in the territory between Ypres 
and Arras, a distance of thirty miles. An assault of ten days' dura- 
tion netted an advance of ten miles to the Germans. Yet because 
of the desperate resistance of the British the German losses were 
great. When the advance was finally checked it meant that the Chan- 
nel ports were saved. 



438 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

The FiiiST Division at Cantigny 

Written by Wm. G. Aitken, first lieutenant, Machine Gun Company, 
Twenty-sixth Infantry, First Division: 

On that memorable day when the Allied commanders placed their 
confidence in one man, Marshal Foch, and made him commander-in 
chief, the First Division of the United States army, composed of 
the First Brigade, comprised of the Sixteenth and Eighteenth regi- 
ments of Infantry; the Second Brigade, comprising the Twenty-sixth 
and Twenty-eighth regiments of Infantry; the First regiment of En- 
gineers; the First, Second and Third battalions of the Machine Gun 
Corps, and the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Field Artillery, was in the 
line at Mount See. Major General R. L. Bullard was in command 
of the division. 

Rumors came thick and fast about a coming movement, and men 
and officers alike were eager to get out of a quiet sector. Finally 
orders came, and the Twenty-sixth or "Yankee Division" took over 
this sector from the First Division on the nights of April ist and 2d. 
By march and truck train our division moved to Camp Bois L' Evique, 
just southeast of Toul, where we enjoyed our first bath since about 
January 15th, at which time the First Brigade went into the line. 

New equipment such as could be secured was issued, travel rations 
were issued and everything was made ready for a long, hard move, 
we knew not where. On April 5th we entrained at Moran and after 
a 300-mile journey we detrained April 8th at Mern, a beautiful little 
village about forty kilometers northwest of Paris. 

After about two weeks of grueling training the First Brigade 
relieved the exhausted French on the night of April 24th, while the 
Second Brigade moved to support positions in the vicinity of Frois- 
sy. But our time was coming, for after three weeks of terrific de- 
fensive work the Second Brigade moved up to relieve the First Bri- 
gade, the Twenty-sixth Infantry relieving the Sixteenth Infantry in 
the Broyes sector. This relief was efifected on the night of May 
15th, a night so quiet that it seemed to presage a storm, and shortly 
after daybreak on the i6th we were thinking the storm had Ijroken, 
for the Boche artillery fire was terrific. 

The importance of the First Division's position may be realized 
when I say that we were at the very apex of the advanced German 
salient, with orders to hold at all costs, for the loss of a few miles 
would cripple the railroads to northern France, and Amiens, a large 
railroad center a few miles northwest of us, would have to be given 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 439 

up. This disaster would have had the effect of isolating- the British 
army from the rest of the western front; hence our position on the 
apex was of critical importance. 

On the night of May 27th we felt the fangs of the enemy, but the 
"Fighting First" not only held their ground but made the enemy 
pay a heavy toll. In the vicinity of Belle Assise Farm the fighting 
was very heavy with Companies I and K, Third Battalion of the 
Twenty-sixth, bearing the brunt of it. 

But the "High Command" had more in store for us, for the ac- 
tion of May 27th seemed but a "test action" on the part of the Boche 
to feel out our strength in preparation for something larger. The 
Twenty-eighth Infantry had been training for nearly a week, and at 
daybreak on May 28th the artillery opened a terrific fire, driving the 
enemy to their shelter, and at 6:30 a. m. ,the Twenty-eighth went 
over the top. Taking Cantigny inside of an hour, our troops were 
digging in and consolidating the position on the ridge just back of 
the village almost before the first prisoners arrived at the rear. 

The casualties were slight in taking the village — yet the six 
terrific counter attacks reaped a heavy toll, not only from the Twenty- 
eighth but also from the First Battalion of the Twenty-sixth, just 
on the right of the Twenty-eighth, as Major Roosevelt and his men 
beat back two heavy counter-attacks. Major Roosevelt showed 
great courage and bravery in remaining at his post, for he was near- 
ly blind from gas received the day before. Through his battalion 
adjutant he directed all movements of his men and out-matched the 
Hun at every move. 

Little did we, up there in our fox holes, know of the importance 
of our "little" victory, for it was on the same date, May 28th, that 
the Hun cut his way through to Chateau Thierry and thus placed Paris 
in immediate danger of capture. When the news of our victory 
■reached the other forces it proved that a great counter-oft'ensive was 
possible and it proved to the AUies that the men from the U. S. A. 
could fight and win at all times. The effect of this news in cheer- 
ing up the war-weary men of England and France was almost magi- 
cal. The sector continued active, but the only excitement we had 
was in pulling off almost nightly raids in order to keep in touch with 
enemy movements and changes in divisions opposite us. 

Again rumors were floated about a relief by the Second Division, 
but such relief was denied us at this time, for the Second Division 
had been rushed to Chateau Thierry, where the marines and 
"doughboys" fighting side by side made a name for the American 
soldier that will long stand at the top. Finally, on the night of July 
7, 1918, the Two Hundred Ninety-fourth French Infantry and the 



440 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Nineteenth Chasseurs reheved us and we bade good-bye to trench 
warfare. 

Our casualties at Cantigny had been heavy, and men and officers 
who marched out on the night of July 7th did so with hearts aching 
for the comrades and friends who were left behind to lie forever on 
the beautiful fields of Picardy. 

' We supposed we were headed for a rest, but after two days at Han- 
divillers we were recalled by the French command as corps reserves, 
being stationed at Camprenny. On July 13th we mounted trucks 
at St. Eusoye for an all-night ride to the vicinity of Ermonville, 
thirty kilometers northwest of Paris, and we were but nicely settled 
amid beautiful surroundings and with splendid billets when, on the 
evening of July 15th, the French camions appeared again, and again 
we left on our way to the front after a rest of but a few days. Day- 
break found the Twenty-sixth Infantry on the eastern edge of the 
Compiegne Woods, on the hillside just above the village of Palesne. 

The peace and quiet under the giant evergreens could hardly be 
imagined by one who was not there — a beautiful, warm day with 
the murmur of the wind through the trees, everyone at ease — again 
the hush and quiet preceding a storm prevailed, and many of the 
boys who slept that day under the evergreens would never sleep the 
earthly sleep, for that night we moved up to — Soissons. 

Glen Clabaugh of Sioux Rapids, was also in this action. 

Cognac for Disturbed Nerves 

Writing early in June, 1918, Lieutenant WiUiam G. Aitken told 
the following amusing incident: 

I shaved and washed my hands and face today, which was poor 
judgment on my part for now I will have to go thirsty until up. m. 
when the water detail and our one hot meal a day wilk arrive. Last 
night a chunk of shell knocked a hole in the boiler that the chow 
wagon was bringing the colTee up in, and if you ever in your life 
saw a mad bunch of men you should have seen those men when we 
got no coflfee. I believe they would have gone right through to 
Berlin if it hadn't been such a long walk. 

I'll have to include in this letter before I close a funny thing that 
occurred last night. Two of my men were sent back about three 
miles to guide a carrying party up with some material for the work- 
ing parties. They started back at dusk and were hiking along the 
road at a pretty good rate, when one of them kicked something ly- 
ing on the road. He investigated and found a bottle of three star 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 441 

cognac, and as both were men who held duty first, they were going 
to keep it for a time when they were off duty. But — they had only 
gone a step or two when they both fell down into a big shell hole. 
The one carrying the bottle came in contact with a man's leg and the 
other the right hand and part of the forearm of a French soldier. 
The leg and arm of the man were all they could find, and it so unset- 
tled them that they sat tight in that same shell hole and drank the 
whole bottle of cognac; but I'm glad to say though feeling pretty 
good both of them were not at any time unfit for duty. To finish 
the story, the French officer in charge of a liaison post near my posi- 
tion was over to see me just before daybreak. He came over to see 
if the man whom he had sent back for some wine and cognac, had 
bv chance found his way to my post instead of his own. Of course 
I told him about my men finding the bottle of cognac and the pieces 
of a French soldier. He went back to his post, a little out of temper, 
because he had to go without his wine for dinner that day. It must 
have been a ten-inch shell at least that killed the Frenchman, but it 
will always be a puzzle to me how the bottle of cognac came through 
unbroken. 

For a month it was quiet while the German forces were being re- 
organized. Though all plans were made by the Allies for an attack 
between Soissons and the sea, the enemy again effected a surprise 
by an attack between Rheims and Soissons, the weakest point in the 
Allied line, with the expectation of opening the road to Paris. This 
drive began May 27th. For a week results went against the French. 
They fought valiantly in an effort to hold back the enemy from a ter- 
ritory which they had not traversed since September, 1914. The 
advance continued thirty miles, to within forty-four miles of Pans. 
Again the Marne River was the line of conflict, and the enemy con- 
trolled the main roads from Paris to Verdun and to the eastern parts 
of the Allied line. 

Chateau Thierry First Great Test of Boche and Yank 

From the Stars and Stripes: 

From a strength reckoned by the Allies about 80,000 men on the 
front between Coucy-le-Chateau and Reims on the evening of May 
26, 1918, to a strength which they soon knew to be at least 145,000 
men on the same front the following morning and over 200,000 on 
the 28th — such was the surprise effect of superior numbers quickly 



442 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

concentrated which the Germans, owing to their possession of the 
initiative, were able to inflict upon their opponents in the third of 
their great offensives of the spring and summer of igiS. 

By the break in the AlHed hne which they thus accomphshed, par- 
ticularly along the famous ridge of the Chemin des Dames, the Vllth 
German Army, imder General von Boehn, operating toward Sois- 
sons and to the east and west of it, and the 1st Army, under General 
F. von Buelow, advancing to the eastward of the Vllth Army, with 
the left wing of its attack near Reims, were able to pour swiftly south- 
ward, forcing back before them the weary and outnumbered French 
and British divisions, most of which had been sent to this "quiet" sec- 
tor" to recuperate after their desperate fighting in the battles of 
April and May in Picardy and Flanders. 

For a few days following the 27th, the situation looked dark 
enough from the Allied standpoint. The German tidal wave, con- 
stantly reenforced by fresh divisions, continued, in spite of the stub- 
born resistance, to move southward toward the Marne, overrunning 
Soissons and Fere-en-Tardenois, leaving the devoted city of Reims 
in a salient which became daily more difficult to hold, and at last, by 
tremendous pressure, beginning to spread distinctly toward Paris 
along the comparatively open and level country between the Marne 
and the Ourcq rivers. 

SEVENTY-FIVE KILOMETERS FROM PARIS 

By the last of May the advance of the Germans at the nearest 
point was scarcely 75 kilometers from the French capital and, al- 
though the speed of their push had been considerably slackened by 
the resistance of the French divisions thrown against them, they still 
possessed all the advantages of the initiative and could elect their 
own points for driving their line ahead anywhere on the 40 kilo- 
meters of front between the vicinity of Soissons and that of Chateau 
Thierry, which constitvited the western face of the salient they had 
created. 

Although the French army and people, with the gallantry and he- 
roism which had characterized them in every previous crisis of their 
national history, refused to become panic stricken at this third great 
success of their arch enemy within a period of ten weeks, the situa- 
tion was obviously one of extreme gravity. 

The Allied commander-in-chief, Marshal Foch, was obliged to 
keep in hand sufficient reserves to meet any blow the Germans might 
direct at any other point on the long western battle front; at the 
same time he must utilize enough of his available strength to halt 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 443 

the formidable attack actually under way. That his forces were in- 
adequate for such a crisis only adds to the brilliancy of the success 
with which he met it. 

Among the reserve troops available for the disposition of Marshal 
Foch were the 2d and 3rd United States Divisions. These, with the 
1st Division, already engaged in its splendid battle at Cantigiiy, con- 
tained all of the American troops which were at the moment yet 
seasoned by experience for major operations, out of all the vast 
hosts whose coming was so eagerly and anxiously awaited by the 
French and British Armies. 

"all that, we have is yours" 

Relying once more upon General Pershing's devoted declaration, 
made on behalf of America during the days of the German offensive 
in March, that "all that we have is yours; use it as you wish," and 
with faith in the valor of the Americans which was the best incen- 
tive to their utmost efforts, the Marshal ordered these two Divisions 
to a place of the greatest danger and, therefore, of the greatest hon- 
or — to the banks of the Marne near Chateau-Thierry and to the 
great Paris-Metz national highway where it crosses the rolling hills 
northwest of that city, here to throw themselves across the apex of 
the German invasion and bar the road to Paris. 

The 2d Division, Maj. Gen. Omar Bundy commanding, was in rest 
billets at Chaumont-en-Vexin, northwest of Paris, and had just 
finished its observance of Memorial Day, May 30th, when the order 
came for it to entrain as soon as possible and move immediately to 
the vicinity of Chateau-Thierry. During the ensuing twenty-four 
hours the troops were making the tiresome journey, and by the early 
morning of June i, most of them had detrained and advanced beyond 
Montreuil-aux-Lions, where division headquarters were established, 
a hamlet some 10 kilometers west of Chateau-Thierry, on the Paris- 
Metz road. 

As they went forward, the news became steadily more disquieting. 
French troops were fighting a few kilometers to the northeast, but 
they were badly outnumbered and exhausted by long fighting and 
marching, and the Germans were pushing on so steadily that it would 
be necessary for the Americans to establish defensive positions at 
once. 

By dark that evening that work had been, at least, begun. The 
9th Infantry was in line from Bonneil, near the Marne southwest of 
Chateau-Thierry, to Le Thiolet, on the Paris-Metz road, whence the 
6th Marines extended to Lucy-le-Bocage and the 23rd Infantry, op- 



444 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

crating temporarily under the 43rd French Division, continued the 
line to the Bois de Veuilly. 

Out in front of this position, which was about 12 kilometers in 
length and faced toward the northeast, the direction whence the Ger- 
mans were coming, lay the crests and slopes of a ridge of hills, some 
of them heavily wooded, descending to the valley of a little creek, the 
Ru Gobert, along which lay scattered the villages of Bouresches, Bel- 
leau, Torcy and Bussiares; all names soon to become famous in the 
annals of the American Army. 

On the other side of the creek the hills rose much more steeply and 
the enemy was already in possession of them, with his artillery, fur- 
ther back, sweeping the American positions with a heavy fire. 

To the right of the 2d Division was the 164th French Division, 
which was holding the southern part of Chateau-Thierry, on the left 
bank of the Marne, with the assistance of some troops of the 3d Uni- 
ted States Division, whose superb work here will be described a 
little further on. 

To the left of the 2d was the 43rd French Division, parts of which 
were also still clinging to positions in the valley of the Ru Gobert 
near the villages mentioned above, but with the distinct understand- 
ing that as soon as the American defensive line should be organized 
they were to fall back through it from their own indefensible tem- 
porary line. 

Having felt out this Franco-American front and found it strong, 
the Germans did not attack it in force until June 3, when, pursuing 
their purpose of pressing on toward Paris, they drove against the line 
from Montcourt, near the ]\Iarne, clear up to Chezy-en-Orxios, five 
kilometers northwest of the Bois de Veuilly, trying to dislodge both 
the 2d United States and 43rd French Divisions at once. 

But the rest of the combat units of the former were up now, includ- 
ing the 5th Marines and the three regiments of Brig. Gen. William 
Chamberlain's 2d Field Artillery Brigade, the latter reinforced by 
six groups of French Field Artillery. The enemy was stopped every- 
where; on the American front, for the time being, in the valley of 
the Ru Gobert. 

ATTACK ON JUNCTION POINT 

That night the French outpost retired through the American line, 
and about dusk of June 4 the Germans made a concentrated attack 
on \^euilly-la-Poterie, at the junction point between the 2d and the 
43rd Divisions. It was repulsed north of the village. At 10 p. m. 
they attacked again, and were repulsed, with a loss of about 200 men 
by one American battalion, gaining only one point, the little Hill 123, 
from which they were ejected next day by the French. 

During the evening they also attacked Hill 142, south of Bussi- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 445 

ares, but were dispersed by the artillery. The fighting" had been 
violent and more or less confused, and the 2d Division had sufifer- 
ed losses of between 200 and 300 men, but everywhere the line had 
held, and it is safe to say that the struggle of the night of June 4 
marked the tactical end of the German push for Paris in this section, 
as it was marked at practically the same time a little further east by 
the repulse inflicted upon the enemy in Chateau-Thierry. 

That night the situation all along the front was improved by the 
relief of the tired 43rd French Division by the 167th Division, on 
the left of the 2d, and that of the 164th Division by the 4th Cavalry 
Division, on the right, while the 2d itself was strengthened by having 
its left flank drawn in several kilometers, from the Bois de Veuilly 
to the road between Bussiares and Champillon, and by the introduc- 
tion into the line of the 23rd Infantry. The division front shorten- 
ed to about nine kilometers, now stood, from right to left: 9th In- 
fantry, 23rd Infantry (constituting the 3rd Infantry Brigade, imder 
Brig. Gen. E. M. Lewis) ; 6th Marines, 5th Marines (constitutino- 
the 4th Infantry, or Marine, Brigade, under Brig. Gen. James D. 
Harbord). 

THIRD AT CHATEAU-THIERRY 

In the meantime, scarcely more than five kilometers east of the 2d 
Division, in fact, so near that liaison was soon to be established be- 
tween the two American organizations, the troops of the 3rd United 
States Division were making for themselves in the streets of Chateau- 
Thierry a name worthy to stand beside that of Berden's Sharpshoot- 
ers in the streets of Fredericksburg, Va. 

The 3rd Divison, commanded by Maj. Gen. Joseph T. Dickman, 
was stationed in the vicinity of Chateauvillain and La Ferte-surAube 
far to the rear when its orders came on May 30 to move at once to 
the battle front. Less fortunate than the 2d Division, it was not 
from the first to do its fighting as a body. Its instructions, which 
were carried out practically unmodified by later developments, were 
that the 5th Infantry Brigade, under Brig. Gen. Fred W. Sladen, 
consisting of the 4th and 7th Infantry and the 8th Machine Gun Bat- 
talion, should be attached to the 6th French Army, commanded by 
General Degoutte, and assigned to the defense of the passages of the 
Marne from Chateau-Thierry to Dormans. 

The commander of the 6th Infantry Brigade, Brig. Gen. Charles 
Crawford, was given one of his Infantry regiments, the 38th, and 
half of his Machine Gun Battalion, the gth, and instructed to hold the 
crossings of the Marne from Dormans east to Damery, under stafif 
direction of the lOth Colonial Division (General Marchand) of the 
5th French Army. The remainder of the 6th Brigade, namely, the 
30th Infantry and half of the 9th Machine Gun Battalion, was placed 



446 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

in support of the 5th Brigade, while the Divisional Machine Gun 
Battalion, the 7th, was ordered to march at once, on May 30, for 
Chateau-Thierry, the rest of the troops starting next day by rail for 
their destination. 

MACHINE GUNNERS IN THE THICK OF IT 

As it happened, except for a heavy engagement in the Jaulgonne 
bend of the Marne, where the enemy was halted north of "the river, 
the intense fighting of most of the divisions was not to come for a 
time, but the 7th Machine Gun Battalion was in it from the moment 
it reached the front. With 180 kilometers of weary road march 
behind it and 36 hours without sleep, it plodded into Chateau-Thierry 
at six o'clock on the afternoon of the 31st under bursting shells. Be- 
fore it the tired French troops were struggling with the enemy's 
advancing infantry in the streets north of the Marne — those streets 
in which Jean de la Fontaine played as a child and over which have 
frowned, ever since the year 720, the battlements of the castle of 
Charles Martel, "the Hammer" that once broke another barbarian 
invasion of France. Was it a portent? 

Hastily finding positions for the guns which enabled them to sweep 
the main bridge in the center of town and the river banks both up and 
down stream, the men of the 7th Battalion went into a battle which 
continued for 96 hours. Time after time the Germans swept down 
on the river in determined effort to carry the bridge or to effect a 
crossing elsewhere which would permit them to spread into the open 
country beyond the Marne. 

But, like the defenders of Verdun, the American machine gunners 
set their teeth and said, "They shall not pass," and for the second 
time in four years they made the Marne the high tide of Hun invasion. 

First Lieut. John T. Bissell, with 14 enlisted men of his company, 
held a position on the north side of the river for 30 hours, and when 
at last obliged to retire, he advanced in face of the guns of his own 
Battalion beyond the bridge until he could make the gunners stop 
firing, thus enabling his own detachment, as well as about 300 French 
troops who were also north of the river, to cross the bridge to safety. 

Behind the unbroken barrier maintained by these men and their 
equally devoted comrades in the French ranks, the Army command 
was enabled to dispose the other troops of the 164th French and 3rd 
United States Divisions in strong defensive positions along the Marne 
on both sides of Chateau-Tliierry and to effect, through the 30th In- 
fantry, complete liaison with the 9th Infantry, on the right of the 2d 
Division, near Montcourt, west of the river. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 447 

ENEMY DELAYS SIX WEEKS 

\\''hen the exhausted 7th Battalion was at last relieved at 3 o'clock 
on the morning of June 4, it marched to the rear knowing that its 
hard-held positions had been left in strong hands, and that if the 
Germans were ever to cross the river they would have to smash 
through a whole French division and through the two regiments of 
French troops and two regiments of the American 3rd Division, 
which, on June 5, were constituted, under General Dickman's com- 
mand, as the Reserve Group of the 38th Army Corps. It was to 
be more than six weeks before the enemy would make up his mind 
to that desperate endeavor; when he did, the dawn of his undoing 
was at hand. 

We may now return to the 2d Division. It has been said that in 
the struggle of the night of June 4, between iMontcourt and the Bois 
de Veuilly, the German advance was definitely stopped. But though 
it was stopped, probably neither the Germans nor their opponents 
fully realized it as yet. 

The German airplanes were consantly over the American lines, 
89 flights being noted on June 5th, when 10 enemy observation bal- 
loons were also up; the German artillery was raking every part of 
the front and rear with a terrible fire of high explosives and yperite, 
and it was only because the Paris-Metz road, the American line of 
communication and supply back to La Ferte-sous-Jouarre, was pro- 
videntially hidden from the enemy's view behind the hill crests, that 
the troops could depend upon a certain supply of food and ammuni- 
tion. 

GERMANS ANGRILY AT BAY 

It was not sufficient that the enemy had been stopped. Now that 
a firm line of defense was established, it became imperative that he 
be pushed back from the observation posts and strong points which 
he had seized on the left side of Ru Gobert, so that the Americans 
could dominate at least the valley of that stream. 

On June 4 the best information available indicated that the enemy 
was employing not less than 33 divisions, about 300,000 men, on the 
whole front of his offensive. Of these, the 197th Division was con- 
fronting the 2d United States. It had tried to smash through 
the latter, had suffered bloody repulse and was now standing angrily 
at bay. Could the Yanks do better in, a line plunge? Could they 
keep it up longer? The time had arrived to find out. 

At 5 o'clock on the morning of June 6, in conjunction with the 167th 
French Division on the left, the ist and 3rd Battalions of the 5th 
Marines swept out through the broken woodlands that clothe the 



448 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

hill crests of Champillon in an assault whose objectives were the 
edges of these woods and crests looking down into the open valley 
about Torcy and Bussiares. 

They were met by an intense machine gun and rifle fire, but push- 
ed on, and at 7:10 a. m. had obtained all their objectives and were in 
command of the valley at this point. It was during this advance 
that among other deeds of valor, First Lieut. Albert P. Baston, shot 
through both legs, earned for himself a D. S. C. by refusing to re- 
ceive treatment until he had seen to it that every man in his platoon 
was imder cover and in a good firing position. The dash of the 
167th French Division gained for it like success, and at 7 o'clock it 
also was established on the dominating heights, west of the 5th 
Marines. 

IN COMMAND OF VALLEY 

But the very fact that the left of the 2d Division had now advanc- 
ed made it necessary that the center should be brought up also in the 
direction of Belleau village and Bouresches. Accordingly, at 5 p.m., 
the 5th and 6th Marines and the 23rd Infantry assaulted for an ob- 
jective line extending along the valley from a point a little distance 
east of Bussiares to the eastern edge of Bouresches. 

It was the bitterest struggle that had yet occurred, for the Ger- 
mans were now thoroughly on the alert and prepared for a desperate 
resistance. Throughout the night, among the thickets and tumbled 
bowlders of the Bois de Triangle and the Bois de Belleau, the lines 
surged back and forth in as ferocious a conflict as that between the 
men of Grant and Lee in the Wilderness of Virginia. 

Nest after nest of German machine guns was taken in savage 
hand-to-hand combat, while the ground behind the lines was torn 
with bursting shells and the night was lit by the hectic glare of flares 
and rockets. 

At 8:30 o'clock the next morning, though the left of the line had 
been able to add little to its great gains of the previous day, the 
right was in possession of Bouresches and had pushed into the Bois 
de Belleau as far as the northeastern summit of Hill 181, placing the 
Marines there on higher ground than the enemy, who still occupied 
the greater part of this tangled woodland to the north. 

But the German machine gun nests in the village and in the woods 
had exacted a terrible toll. In its two battles, the Marine Brigade 
had lost 24 officers and 390 enlisted men, killed and wounded, and 
the Qth and 23rd Infantry had lost 377 officers and enlisted men killed 
or wounded, the 23rd sttffering most during the repulse of a Ger- 
man counter-attack on the night of the 6th. 

From that day forth for several weeks a battle almost without lull 
continued along the American front, especially around Bouresches 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 449 

and southeast of it, toward Vaux, and in the Bois de Belleau. The 
ability of the Americans to advance at these points or of the Ger- 
mans to prevent them from advancing^ became so obviously a test, 
before the audience of the whole world, of the relative moral stami- 
na of the two races, that the contest took on an importance far 
greater than was represented by the tactical value of the mere ter- 
ritory involved. 

And in this vital test the Americans consistently maintained the 
upper hand; not always and at every point, for, as in a bout between 
two mighty and well-matched wrestlers, so American and German 
swayed back and forth more than once. 

But time after time fiery attacks carried the American front for- 
ward greater or less distances, as when the 9th Infantry on June 7th 
advanced north of the Bois de la Morette at the same time that 
French troops and Companies E and F of the 30th Infantry, 3rd Di- 
vision, took the southern slopes of Hill 204 and the village of Mon- 
neaux; as on the early morning of June 10, when the IVIarine Bri- 
gade lunged forward 800 meters and carried all the southern half 
of the Bois de Belleau, and the next morning, when, behind a rolling 
barrage, it took all the remainder of the woods except a few north- 
ward reaching spurs, together with 300 prisoners and 39 machine 
guns and trench mortars ; and as on June 25 when, at last, all of these 
places were cleared out by a superb advance which did not halt until 
it was far out in the valley toward Torcy and had netted over 300 
more prisoners and 24 more machine guns and automatic rifles. 

Similarly, time after time the German attempts to recover lost 
ground were beaten back. They failed on the night of June 7 and 
again on that of the 8th to wrest from the 23rd and the 9th Infan- 
try any part of the ground around Bouresches and north of the Bois 
de la Morette, from which they had just been expelled, and they 
failed again, always with sanguinary losses, on the early mornings 
of June II, 14 and 15, when their violent assaults on both Bouresches 
and the, Bois de Belleau were hurled back by the combined efl^orts 
of Infantry and Marines, despite the devastating preliminary bom- 
bardments of German gas and high explosives. 

WHAT THE SECOND MET 

During these weeks the 2d Division had opposing it at dififerent 
times on various parts of its front the following German divisions, 
wholly or in part: The 197th (which was relieved about June 9); 
the 237th (relieved about June 11); the loth (relieved about June 
15); the 28th (relieved about June 21); the 5th Guard; the 231st. 
and the 87th, of which the last was known as "the Aluminum 
Division." 



450 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Li the meantime, the only relief enjoyed in the 2d Division was 
by three battalions of the Marines, whose places were taken for five 
days, from June 16 to 21, by the three battalions of the 7th Infantry, 
3rd Division. It was small wonder that the Germans thought, as 
one of them expressed it in a captured letter, that the "American 
divisions are still too fiery." 

Up to July I this American division, against the most powerful 
opposition that the German army could exert, had advanced its front 
by dogged, unrelaxing pressure an average of over two kilometers 
and had taken more than 800 prisoners and more than 90 machine 
guns, minnenwerfers and automatic rifles — and this at a time when 
Germany was exultantly proclaiming to the world the impending 
overthrow of the Allied armies. 

As a matter of fact, it was precisely at this time and on account 
of this fighting that the German High Command had borne in upon 
it the iron fact that the scale was swinging against them, slowly 
but surely. 

One more feat of arms, and this to the combined credit of the 2d 
and 3rd United States and the loth French Colonial Divisions, as 
though to set the seal of unison upon their common struggle, re- 
mains to be recounted before the great counter-offensive of mid- July. 

THE ATTACK ON VAUX 

In the creek valley between Hill 204, taken by the French and 
Americans on June 7-8, and the positions north of the Bois de la 
Morette, taken by the 9th Infantry at the same time, lay the village 
of Vaux, a tiny place but deadly. Its stone houses were fortresses 
armed with German machine guns, its cellars were bomb proofs 
sheltering hidden swarms of infantry, its streets were covered ways 
filled with ghastly surprises for the enemy. 

It thrust out, a menacing salient, into the American line, sweep- 
ing with its fire Monneaux and the communications of Hill 204. It 
had to be taken. 

The 9th Infantry, for the 2d Division, and troops of the 3rd Divi- 
sion, in liaison near Monneaux, prepared to take it. Every particle 
of available data on the subject of Vaux was carefully studied. Maps 
and old picture postcards were gone over and refugee inhabitants 
described in minute detail the construction of its cellars and the in- 
tricacies of its streets. 

CELLAR FOR EVERY SQUAD 

On July I, every platoon and squad leader who was going into 
the town had a map showing in red ink the particular cellar which 
he was to capture and how he was to get to it. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 451 

At 5 :30 p. m. on that day an intense artillery bombardment began 
which quickly reduced the village to ruins, and at 6 the assault went 
over the top on a front of about two kilometers, the 9th Infantry 
being supported on the left by an advance of the 23rd Infantry, and 
the troops of the 3rd Division acting in concert with those of the 
lOth Colonial Division. 

In 15 minutes the first wave was in the outskirts of the village, 
and by 6:25 p. m. it was completely taken, and the front had gone 
forward a thousand yards from its jumping off points. 

TWENTY-THIRD TAKES BOIS DE LA ROCHE 

Meantime, the 23rd Infantry took the Bois de la Roche, immedi- 
ately to the northwest of Vaux, while on the right the Allied posi- 
tions on Hill 204 were materially improved. Over 60 machine guns 
were captured by the Americans and 500 prisoners, most of them 
Poles of the Aluminum Division, and it was estimated that for ev- 
ery man killed or wounded in the American ranks, two of the enemy 
were captured and one was killed. 

Indeed, so badly demoralized were the Germans that the regiment 
in line had to be withdrawn and another substituted to make the 
counter-attack, which was not attempted until 4 o'clock on the 
afternoon of the next day — 22 hours later. When it came, it mis- 
carried; the troops detailed to retake the Bois de la Roche did not 
start; those that attacked Vaux were repulsed and then cut ofif from 
their retreat by an American machine gun barrage and 150 of them 
were taken prisoner. Vaux was never recaptured by the enemy. 

In Chateau-Thierry, in the Bois de Belleau, in Bouresches and 
Vaux and on Hill 204, the Germans had now faced the men from 
across the seas in fair combat; before the audience of the world they 
had met with them in moral test, and the result was a foretaste of 
what was soon to come. By the first day of July, 1918, men of dis- 
cernment in Germany could trace the word defeat across the setting 
sun of "Der Tag." 

Engineers Under Fire 

Henry Wehrenberg of Newell was in Company A of the Second 
Engineers. He says that after his company built a hospital at Bur- 
mond, France, he was transferred to Solwell, France, to get ready 
to go to the front. He worked with the members of his company 
on the engineer's dump near Metz and was sent back to Solwell to 
drill. On Decoration Day, 191 8, they were ordered to the Chateau 
Thierry front, between the English and French armies, to stop the 



452 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

German drive to Paris. He was wounded here by pieces of shrap- 
nel on July 1st. One piece struck his left leg, two pieces in his 
right leg, two pieces in his right arm, and one just over his right 
eye. His platoon was nearly wiped out by that high explosive shell. 
Eight or nine men were killed and more than twice that number 
were wounded. He was in the base hospital at Mudpound, France, 
a little over a month. He got back to his company just as the men 
were ready to start upon St. Mihiel drive, and took an active part 
in that historic drive. 

From there they moved to the Champagne front, where his com- 
pany in twenty-four hours built a road a quarter of a mile long 
through the Hindenburg line to carry ammunition and supplies to 
the boys at the front. From there the group went to the Meuse- 
Argonne front, where the Newell soldier helped build a floating 
bridge across the Meuse River the night before the armistice was 
signed. A permanent bridge was built across the Meuse the next 
day. After this his company went to Germany with the Army of 
Occupation and they built horse barns, mess halls, etc., at Engers, 
Germany. 

On June 9th, the fourth drive was opened by the Germans, this 
time between Soissons and Montdidier, where they were able to ad- 
vance only six miles. With power to direct all forces where they 
were most needed the advantages of a vmified command began to 
appear. 

The "Lousy" Champagne 

Written by George D. Crissy, Company M, One Hundred Sixty- 
eighth Infantry : 

When relieved from the Baccarat sector on the Lorraine front 
about the 21st of June, where we had spent 140 days without relief, 
we hadn't the slightest idea where we were going, but after long 
rides in box cars and cramped in motor trucks we found ourselves 
behind the lines on the Champagne front not far from Chalons-sur- 
Marne in the valley of the Marne River, where we spent four days 
drilling to restore discipline which had become rather slack during 
our long siege at the front. Suddenly and without warning, the 
Rainbow Division was transferred to the Fourth French Army, and 
on the sultry nights of June 28th and 2gth we made long, punish- 
ing marches a distance of thirty-five kilometers toward the front, to 
the famous drill ground at Camp de Chalons. It was a historic 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 453 

battleground in the present war. The Germans swept over it in 
1914, and were in turn swept back over it in the first battle of the 
Marne. 

This country, the Champagne, is not what its name implies. There 
isn't a vineyard or a garden there, and it is known by the French as 
the "lousy" Champagne because of its desolate condition. The small 
trees were dwarfed and twisted, with just enough foliage to empha- 
size the bareness of the country. Heather was plentiful, chalk was 
everywhere. The glaring whiteness of the chalk reflected back the 
heat and also kept the coolness of the ground in. But it made the 
roads firm, and a dug-out of great strength could easily be built. The 
only color on the whole scene was the thick patches of red poppies. 
There is a superstition among the French soldiers that wherever a 
man dies the red poppies will bloom forever. 

Without delay we started drilling for a proposed offensive against 
the Germans, but instead, on the Fourth of July, our division as a 
part of the Fourth French Army under the command of General 
Gourauds, was informed that we would be directed against the main 
German offensive in their drive against Chalons. Our division ac- 
cepted this responsibility on the birthday of our country, July the 
Fourth. 

Our division, the Rainbow, went into the line the fifth of July along 
with the One Hundred Seventieth and the Thirteenth French divi- 
sions, and our defense position, the second line of resistance, was 
very quiet, not a shot being fired during the day, and it was almost 
as quiet at night. We spent the time sleeping during the day and 
reenforcing defense positions during the night, doing up-keep work 
on our trenches, rebuilding machine gun emplacements ; in fact, forti- 
fying our position in every possible manner, protecting ourselves 
against the attack which we knew might come any minute. 

The plan of defense was to withdraw from our own front line the 
moment the German infantry struck it, sending signal flares to our 
artillery, who would then proceed to blow up our own line and the 
Germans with it, thus checking the most brutal part of the German 
blow without loss to ourselves. 

The quiet and suspense continued for about one week, until mid- 
night of the 14th of July, when the German artillery opened up. But 
we were prepared for them. Thousands of French and American 
guns spoke with such intensity that it caused the atmosphere to 
shake with an unbroken roaring sound. The stars could no longer be 
seen because of the flashes of fire in the sky from guns of both con- 
batants. It seemed as though all hell had turned loose, and it was 
impossible for a single mind to conceive what really took place. 
When the bombardment started our men came rushing out of the 



454 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

trees where they had been sleeping and went to their defense posi- 
tions in the trenches. We were smothered by gas and knocked 
down by the concussion of the high explosives. But we reached our 
positions — and remained there until about 4 o'clock the next morn- 
ing when the German waves of infantry hit our front line. Every- 
thing worked out as had been planned; our line was evacuated and 
our artillery fairly rained upon the enemy. But the Germans came 
back at us to the best of their ability. Shells screamed and roared, 
racing through the air in both directions. The German infantry 
kept coming and coming; the slaughter was terrible, but they could 
not break our line, though they came into the face of almost certain 
death, fighting to the very last. 

The white and desolate landscape was covered with a cloud of dust 
and smoke. For four hours this was kept vip, and the change that 
was wrought is beyond realization. No matter what direction one 
looked ammunition dumps could be seen burning. Horses, mules, 
and men lay dismembered all over the white, chalky plain. Ani- 
mals ran wild, neighing through the trees until they fell dying because 
of the wounds from which they suffered. 

About 4:15 the following morning the German infantry, which 
had not been caught in the trap, attacked again, but they were held, 
again suffering heavy losses. But German artillery fire was coming 
over as though from aeroplanes. We had different attacks similar 
to this one, but they found our line invincible and the infantry at- 
tacks died out by the 17th. During the nights of the i8th and 19th 
of July we bade good-bye to Champagne and moved west toward 
Chateau Thierry to become participants in that great American 
offensive known as the second battle of the Marne. 

On a front of one hundred miles east of Soissons the fifth drive 
opened on July 15th. It met the Allies fully prepared, and though 
they were forced at first to fall back they soon regained most of the 
territory thus lost. 

At three points Germany had bent back the Allied line, quite 
abruptly in some places. But in so doing the Germans had placed 
themselves in positions that would be dangerous in the event that 
the Allies should assume the offensive. Foch appreciated the op- 
portunity thus created. With transportation of American troops 
greatly facilitated, one million Yanks were now in France. In an 
action which began July i8th, fresh American and French troops 
took the offensive along the Marne, compelling the retirement of the 
German forces within a few days. The British introduced tanks 
into an attack on the Montdidier sector, begun August 8th, and by 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 455 

skillful adaption of the surprise element drove the Germans back for 
a distance of ten miles on a long front. 

The Battle at Soissons 
Written by W. G. Aitken : 

On the night of July 16, 19 18, the Twenty-sixth relieved the troops 
of the Moroccan Division in the vicinity of Roy St. Nicholas, while 
the other elements of the division also moved forward. On the 
night of July 1 7th- 1 8th the actual move to the jumping off line was 
made. The night was inky black, a thunder storm was raging, and 
over cjuagmires of roads jammed with traffic of all descriptions the 
weary doughboy plodded along. Through fields and forests, over 
unknown roads, we slowly made our way, often falling — into shell 
holes, over wire entanglements or from sheer exhaustion, through 
the shell torn village of Couevres and into position. Not many units 
were in position much in advance of the zero hour 4:35 a. m. — but 
none were late, although some had to hurry they were ready to ad- 
vance when the artillery opened. 

We entered the fight under a new division commander, Major- 
General Summerall. On the left of our division was the One Hun- 
dred Fifty-third French Division, on the right the veteran First Mo- 
roccan Division with its noted "Foreign Legion," while the regi- 
ments of the First Division from right to left were the Eighteenth, 
Sixteenth, Twenty-sixth, and Twenty-eighth. 

Daybreak was calm and serene; the artillery had made no demon- 
stration that might warn the enemy; all in all this was to be a sur- 
prise attack — the master stroke to mark the turning point in 
the great war. 

I might state here that for the first two days I was acting as bri- 
gade liaison officer from brigade headqvtarters to regimental and 
battalion headquarters of the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-eighth In- 
fantry regiments and hence saw no personal work on these days. 

The Second battalion under Major McCloud led ofif from the 
Twenty-sixth, through the village of Cutry and up the steep slopes 
to the heights above, where could be seen Soissons. At the first gun the 
men broke from their positions in perfect order. At 5 :30 a. m. we 
had advanced two kilometers and the first objective was ours; at 
7:15 two more kilometers had been gained and we were on the edge 
of the Missy aux Bois ravine and village where the resistance was 
very stubborn, and only after two hours of hand to hand fighting 
were the ravine and village captured. Although we sufifered quite 
heavily we took many prisoners, machine guns, and some light and 
heavy field pieces. While the First Brigade had reached their third 



456 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

objective the Second Brigade had been held up, and was temporarily 
disorganized between Missy aux Bois and the Paris-Soissons road; 
so we called it a day's work and dug in. 

On the night of July i8th orders to "carry on" were received, and 
it was while delivering these orders and on my way back to brigade 
headquarters that a German shell hit the ground almost underneath 
my feet and I sailed away about fifty yards. When I regained con- 
sciousness three hours later it was to find that someone had taken my 
compass, my emergency and reserve rations, and the precious little 
water I had left. I had been slightly wounded and badly shaken up, 
but continued on my way to brigade headquarters to report delivery 
of orders and to look for some chow. But that was not for me that 
night as liaison men were scarce, and after a hasty gulp of coffee I 
was on my way to the front. 

Again the sun arose clear and bright, but the resistance from the 
very start on the 19th was more stubborn, and the casualties were 
very heavy. The advance was made to a short distance east of the 
Paris-Soissons road. Orders to continue were received and at 5 :30 
p. m., with the First Battalion on the right, the Seccrnd on the 
left, and the third in brigade reserve, we jumped oft' for the second 
time that day. 

The terrain was rolling wheat fields, criss-crossed with sunken 
roads and fairly alive with machine guns. Of the five days of this 
campaign the second day was one never to be forgotten. Major 
McCloud, wounded in the arm in the morning, was killed at the head 
of the battalion ; and with him, each at the head of their companies, 
Captain J. H. Holmes and Captain J. N. C. Richards paid the supreme 
sacrifice. Captain Richards had been my company commander be- 
fore I was transferred to the machine gun company. He was dearly 
beloved by all who knew him and I might say that in avenging his 
death nearly four-fifths of his company died on that same field that 
day. 

But night was falling. As we had taken Ploisy and the ravine 
of that same name we dug in. The boys settled down to await the 
chow carts, for reserve rations were low and two days had passed 
since they had partaken of a warm meal. They waited in vain that 
night, for it was not until twenty-four hours later that any warm food 
could be brought forward, and then very few men got any of it. 

On July 20th we "carried on." I had been placed in command of 
a replacement battalion of about 700 men just overseas, and under 
fire for the first time. I met and talked with Morton (Casey) Stull 
for a few minutes that morning before daybreak, and then orders 
came to send men to replace the battalions at the front, and I didn't 
see him again until our return home. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 457 

Resistance had stiffened considerably. The French on our left 
were almost exhausted and the Twenty-eighth LI. S. Infantry was 
called upon to take Berzy-le-Sec, while the Twenty-sixth was to con- 
form to its movement and take the railroad. The capture of the 
railroad and the village meant the loss of that salient to the Germans 
as Berzy-le-Sec dominated the railroad from Soissons south. Hence 
the fighting was desperate, the battle swaying to and fro with the 
balance slightly in our favor, though we failed in our mission that 
day. That night General Summerall came to the front lines and 
cheered the men up considerably by his coolness and bearing. Relief 
was promised — but we wanted Berzy-le-Sec first. 

So on July 2ist, at 4:30 a. m., we swept forward through Berzy 
and beyond. All day the battle raged, fierce and furious, but the 
fighting First Division held every inch gained and the German loot. 

But what a toll! Lieutenant Colonel Elliott, "Daddy" Elliott 
to the older ofiicers, was killed by a shell while directing the attack 
— and many men had previously fallen. 

We dug in and held on during the night and next day, for we were 
too exhausted to carry on. although able to hold our gain. Our 
work this last day was chiefly in cleaning out enemy machine gun 
nests on our immediate front, and while directing an attack on one 
of these nests near the sugar mill at Noyant, Colonel Hamilton A. 
Smith was killed — less than two hours after he had personally con- 
ducted the reconnoitering party from the Fifteenth Scottish Divi- 
sion over the front. Relief was accomplished on the night of the 
22d, marching to the Bois-le-Retz where we spent the night, then 
mounted trucks on the morning of the 24th for Orry-la-Ville. It 
was here we buried our colonel, beloved by every man in the regiment. 

In summarizing the five awful days of fighting: My regiment, 
the Twenty-sixth United States Infantry, entered the line wih 3,100 
enlisted men and ninety-six officers. Twenty ofiicers were killed 
and forty-two were wounded; 1,560 enlisted men were among the 
killed and wounded, and all field officers were either killed or wound- 
ed. The regiment came out under command of a captain of less than 
two years' experience, and one battalion was commanded by a first 
lieutenant. 

The regiment captured 750 prisoners, including fourteen officers, 
besides many guns and vast quantities of supplies, and during the 
five davs of terrific fighting had advanced eleven kilometers. 

As history the victory of the First Division against six of the best 
veteran divisions will undoubtedly be classed as one of the great bat- 
tles of the war, as it marked the turning point. 

The place of honor on the Soissons front was given to our First 
and Second Divisions and to chosen veteran French divisions. We 
well upheld our 'reputation in the five days fighting, as the First 



458 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

and Second United States Divisions together captured 7,000 prison- 
ers, over 100 pieces of artillery and much material, and in the First 
Division it was the Twenty-sixth Infantry that led in casualties, num- 
ber of prisoners captured, and it was here the 26th received its first 
citation : 

EXTRACT 

"General Orders No. 40 — The Division Commander cites the fol- 
lowing organizations, officers and men for distinguished conduct 
during the operations of the Division south of Soissons July 18-22, 
1918: 

Twenty-sixth United States Infantry 

for distinguished conduct in overcoming determined and constant 
resistance while sustaining heavy losses, and in capturing and hold- 
ing all objectives assigned to it in the advance between July 18-22 
inclusive. 
."By command Major-General Summerall. 

"H. K. LOUGHRY, 

"Major F. A. N. A. Division Adjutant." 

Why "Fritz" Lost at Chateau Thierry 

Von Turpitz, Ludendorfif, and various other bedraggled war lords 
have written volumes trying to explain how and why the other fel- 
low lost the war. But it is Lieutenant von Kurt Hesse who really 
understands. The lieutenant was at Chateau Thierry when 
Tirpitz was safe in Berlin, and Ludendorfif was carefully protected 
beneath the earth of a snug dug-out. Here is the way Lieutenant 
Hesse explains it: 

The time for the German barrage to move arrived, and the cross- 
ing was going on better. The Fifth Grenadiers actually pushed on 
1,000 yards, to the neck of the two miles wide peninsula on which 
they had landed. In the morning mist they saw a counter-attack 
coming down on them from the right — men in brown uniforms — 
Americans — who did not charge, but halted and fired, and the Ger- 
mans turned back, but eventually rallied on the railway embank- 
ment, and there clung on. 

Never have I seen so many dead, and never witnessed such terrible 
scenes. The Americans shot down two of our companions at close 
range. They waited lying down in a half circle until our men got 
within thirty or fifty paces, and then wiped them out. Credit we 
must give them for nerves, but also for bestial rough fighting 
(Bestialische Roheit). "Die Amerikaner schlagen alles tot!" was 
the fearsome cry of July 15th that long haunted the bones of our men. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 459 

Surprising the Germans at the Ourcq 

Written by Walter Crissy, Company M, One Hundred Sixty-eighth 
Regiment, Forty-second Division: 

On the morning of July 25th the Rainbow Division arrived in the 
locality of Epieds and Verdilly. 

The boys of the Rainbow Division found themselves facing the 
Forest de Fere, where the Germans had stored great quantities of 
ammunition and supplies for their drive on Paris. The key to this 
position was Croix Rouge farm. This was a commanding position, 
where the Germans had amassed great nests of machine guns. Be- 
yond lay the River Ourcq. The Americans were ready to play 
offensive, and Croix Rouge farm was the first point to gain. The 
capture of this farm would mean the capture of many Germans, be- 
sides gaining the coveted knoll upon which it was situated. 

The Germans were sure of themselves, but not yet had they come 
to realize the daring of the American army. At 5 130 in the after- 
noon three regiments of the Rainbow Division attacked Croix Rouge 
farm — the One Hundred Sixty-eighth from the right. Every ma- 
chine gun in the vicinity poured forth its rain of bullets. One by 
one the brave lads of the One Hundred Sixty-eighth fell — but on 
they came. Then suddenly, as though they had dropped from heav- 
en, the boys of the One Hundred Sixty-fifth and the One Hundred 
Sixty-seventh, from the woods at the front and the left, swooped 
down upon the surprised Germans. The machine gun fire was no 
longer directed entirely upon the One Hundred Sixty-eighth. But 
the surprise was too much for the Germans. Steadily the Ameri- 
cans approached, and Croix Rouge farm was taken at the point of 
the bayonet. 

A number of the One Hundred Sixty-eighth Regiment gave their 
lives to gain this important position, but our losses were few com- 
pared with those of the Germans. In one trench alone 250 Germans 
were found dead. 

The first attack was successful and after taking time to reorgan- 
ize the platoons and appoint new platoon commanders, the One Hun- 
dred Sixty-eighth went on. The River Ourcq was next to be cross- 
ed. There were no bridges but we had no difficulty in wading across. 
We pushed on and advanced more than half a mile with- 
out serious resistance. Our line was made up of groups of about 
twelve men each. As our group passed through a bit of woodland, 
separated on either side from the remainder of the company, right 
in front of us we discovered a number of Germans with a nest of 
machine guns. Luckily, we discovered them before they discovered 
us. Without a moment's hesitation we threw ourselves upon them. 



46o HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

The two German gunners were killed before they could open up 
their machine guns. But even then seven of our twelve men were 
killed. ( Storm Lake people will be interested to know that it was 
in this battle that Harold Shaffer made the supreme sacrifice.) The 
position was taken, and not a German was left to carry the news 
back to his company. Out of twenty Germans only four were left; 
two of them were wounded and all four of them were prisoners. 
This point gained our objective was reached and there we waited 
for further orders. 



Wounded at Vesle River — Back for Meuse-Argonne 

Written by Corporal George C. Barnes, Headquarters Company, 
Fifty-eighth Infantry, Fourth Division: 

My first training for military service was at Camp Pike where I 
put in five months under trying conditions. I was then transferred 
to Camp Greene, and a worse camp I have yet to see, but can be 
thankful that the course there was short, for in April we were or- 
dered to prepare for the trip overseas. From New York we em- 
barked May 1 1 with a large convoy, but after being out four days en- 
gine trouble developed, so our ship returned to Halifax, Nova Sco- 
tia. There repairs were made, we were assigned to another convoy, 
and this time the ship completed the trip. On June 2d we experi- 
enced the excitement of a submarine attack, but thanks to the good 
work of the submarine destroyers the convoy made the trip in safety, 
landing at London June 5, 191 8. 

From London we proceeded to Folkstone, England, to enjoy four 
days relaxation at a rest camp, and then went on the way, crossing 
the English Channel to Calais, France. From there this outfit was 
ordered to Lizy, about forty kilometers from Paris, for another 
brief training period. On the night of July 17th we hiked to the 
firing line, and on the morning of July i8th went over the top in the 
first Allied offensive at the Marne. After three days we were re- 
lieved, but on receipt of next orders were sent to the Vesle River, 
where we met very stubborn resistance; and it was there on the 7th 
of August, that I was wounded and sent to the base hospital at Di- 
jon. Later I was transferred to base No. 24 at Limoge, from which 
I was sent to a replacement camp at St. Aignan, there to be reclassi- 
fied and sent back to my original company for duty. I joined them 
just before the Meuse-Argonne drive, and on the 28th of September 
we took the lines for the last time. For twenty-two successive days 
we remained there, only to be released and ordered to the Metz sec- 
tor, but just then the armistice was signed and thus we were saved 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 461 

from further combat duty. However, we were next ordered to take 
a long march to Coblenz, Germany, there to serve in the Army of 
Occupation. 

With these advances accompHshed, the offensive was now in the 
hands of the Allies. At one point after another the enemy met re- 
verses. 

Harry W. Larson of Company K, One Hundred Nineteenth In- 
fantry, Thirtieth Division, tells of the capture of Mt. Kemmel on the 
Belgian front, August 31, 191 8. 

Capture of Mt. Kemmel 

The facts of personal history, including the life of a "rookie," and 
the course of preparation in home camps, can have little or no inter- 
est in a writing of this sort. The process of turning a civilian into 
a soldier is an experience valuable only to the subject operated upon. 
The editor of this volume is insistent on the "war story," and I 
must, as best I can, obey orders, which was the first and most im- 
portant lesson taught me at Camp Dodge. 

The chances or designs of the service put me, with other Iowa and 
Northern boys, with the One Hundredth and Nineteenth Infantry, 
of the Thirtieth Division. Mostly made up of Southern men, this 
was known as the "Old Hickory" or "Boys from Dixie" Division. It 
proved to be a splendid aggregation of men, and gave evidence that 
the same spirit animated the American soldier, no matter what his 
birthplace or his racial origin. 

On May 7, 1918, orders came to the division to leave for France. 
On the 1 2th of that same month we sailed from Boston for the dis- 
tant battle front. The story of our voyage was really no different 
from hundreds of others. A German submarine managed to steal 
within our protecting screen of destroyers, and attacked the last 
ship of the convoy. A torpedo fired at our boat fortunately missed 
its mark. This gave us the first experience of real war, and the in- 
cident was certainly exciting to the landsmen while it lasted. The 
truth is that we were very near a panic. But the flurry was soon 
over. 

Liverpool was reached May 22d, and there we entrained at once 
for Dover, and the next day a channel boat landed us at Calais, 
France, where we went into temporary camp. There, some thirty 
miles from the fighting lines, we could hear the big guns. On the 
second day my corporal and myself broke camp and went into town. 
At a wine shop we bought a bottle of champagne and a box of sar- 
dines. The fizz was ten francs (two dollars) and the sardines — 
the old nickel kind at home — cost us forty cents. 



462 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

After three days at Calais we were moved forward. Our rifles 
were turned in and Enfields issued to us. This change was neces- 
sary, as we were to be attached to the British Fourth Army. Our first 
day's hike covered twenty-three miles. A five-weeks' period of drill 
followed, after which we marched into Belgium, reaching the trench 
area of operations July 5th. Ours — the Thirtieth — and the 
Twenty-seventh Division (composed of New York troops) were the 
first American soldiers to reach Belgium. 

On July 24th we took over the first support line trench at East 
Poperinge. The command made is way to the front under cover of 
darkness. After five days in this position we were sent nearer — 
into the front-line trenches. For a short time we were attached to 
a Scotch brigade. A half platoon of Scotchmen acted as trench in- 
structors to an equal number of Americans. And, for all our pre- 
vious training, there was much to learn. For now we were actually 
at the business of war. The two nationalities mixed well, and there 
was a respect and sincere liking on both sides. A short period of 
this seasoning process with the big German shells screaming over 
us, and then back to rest camp to recover our nerves. We did not 
give it any such name, however, for it was drill, drill for eight hours 
every day, with Boche aerial raids every night. We could not 
smoke after dark, nor have any fire. 

Again we were ordered forward, being then stationed in the sec- 
ond line of trenches. Then and there we had the experience of our 
young lives! I believe it was on or about the loth of August when 
we definitely, and for ourselves, took over the trenches with the 
Twenty-seventh Division on our right. We were about one-half 
mile south of Ypres. That once thriving city was but a mass of 
ruins, pounded level with the ground by the long-continued artillery 
fire. We had been in the trenches but a few hours when the enemy 
put over a barrage. And then I reached the conclusion that my "t 
in hat" was altogether too small. The Germans kept up this amuse- 
ment for about an hour, sweeping the first and second line trenches. 
I could at last reahze the meaning of the word "war." I can also 
admit that I was scared. I have come to the conclusion that any 
man who says he is not afraid of shell fire is lacking in veracity or 
good sense. 

We were for a time alternated between the two positions — four 
(lays in the first line and the same length of time in the second. This 
served to slightly relieve the terrible strain. And when the regi- 
ment had been twelve days at the front, it was relieved by another, 
moving back to the reserve lines. 

While on the front we met some of the best entertainers I have ever 
known or seen. When not being amused by the Germans, there 
Wf^re our friends, the "cooties." They were persistent, intimate, 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 463 

and numerous. Our clothes were alive with them, and the size and 
vigor of individual specimens were a constant source of wonder and 
admiration. Many of you have looked down upon the street from 
some tall building, from which point the people and vehicles below 
looked so small and grotesque. Now these same "cooties" looked 
like street cars thus seen, all having diverse routes, and all being ex- 
ceedingly busy. 

Beyond the artillery fire we withstood frequent attempts by ene- 
my raiding parties to enter our lines. Back of the first line we did 
guard duty. At night we brought up rations for those in front. 
There were working parties organized, repairing trenches or dig- 
ging new ones. While in either the first or second line we managed 
to cook cofifee, at least once a day. In doing this we had to avoid 
making a smoke that would be perceptible to the enemy, and it was 
really surprising how expert we became in hiding our culinary oper- 
ations. In the second line, of course, our cookery was somewhat 
more elaborate. But our menus at the front were exceedingly sim- 
ple, though the food was sufiicient. 

August 29th we received orders to act as reserve to the Twenty- 
seventh, in an attack by the latter on Kemmel Hill. In front of our 
lines the Germans were retreating, and a few men, comparatively, 
could straighten the line. Companies L and I, of our regiment, went 
over the top, to keep in touch with the enemy. The Twenty-sev- 
enth was successful, taking Kemmel Hill, at a cost of many casual- 
ties. Our two companies in the advance sufifered considerable losses. 
My own company held with the reserve line, moving forward only 
about 1200 yards. The Germans put over an almost continuous 
barrage, and by the last of August our regiment had quite a list of 
casualties. 

Chateau Thierry 

Written by Denton Gregg, Headquarters Company, One Hundred 
Sixty-eighth Regiment : 

On the 25th of July the Forty-second Division relieved the Twenty- 
sixth Division in the Chateau Thierry region, near Epieds and Ver- 
dilly. On the 25th the Second Battalion took the lead and during 
the latter part of the afternoon, while on the part of the road 
that was under heavy shell fire, the sergeant who was in charge of 
the Third Battalion section infantry signalmen was wounded. He 
had started out with that battalion to furnish communication by 
telephone, T. P. S., visual signaling, pigeons, etc. When he was 
wounded I was put in charge of a sector, with orders to rim a line 
from an old battalion post command forward to the Third Battalion 



464 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

post command. No one knew where the Third was located; even 
the runners were getting lost. 

Now comes the part that I shall never forget — nor an}- of the 
men who were with me. This is what we had to do: Go back a half 
mile over some hastily constructed road through the woods that the 
artillery was using, get some material, including several big iron 
spools of heavy French twisted wire, together with a couple of heavy 
camp telephones and a four-drop switch board, then forward again 
to the point from which we had started, and from there follow a line 
to that old post command. From there we went to locate the Third 
Battalion and to run a line to them that night. 

We stared out. It took one man to keep hold of the wire we were 
following. The rest of us took turns carrying the material. Just as 
we started it began to rain — and did it rain? Well, I hope to tell 
you it did. The road we were to travel was pretty well shot up and 
as we started in the midst of dense darkness at 10:30 p. m. you can 
imagine what a lovely time we had. An occasional shell coming 
over did not improve matters any either. There we were, 
staggering along in the dark, through almost a river of mud, 
pitted in many places by shell holes; and strewn with roots and 
branches. Several of the fellows twisted an ankle or a knee, mak- 
ing it harder of course for the rest of us in carrying the wire, etc. 
The distance we had to go was about two and a half kilometers, or 
nearly two miles. As I mentioned, we started about 10:30 p. m., and 
we reached the old post command about 2:30 a. m. There we had 
been four hours in traversing a distance of less than two miles. A 
steady downpour of rain, shell holes to entrap us, parts of trees to 
stumble over; litter bearers coming with the wounded, for whom, 
of course, we had to step to one side. Maybe these litter bearers 
didn't have a terrible time ! We were carrying wire, etc. ; we could 
fall down, curse a little, get up and go on. Those men carrying the 
wounded did not dare to even as much as slip. I would rather be 
anvthing else than a litter carrier. 

"Vt^ell, to conclude. As I said, we arrived at that old post com- 
mand at about 2 :30 a. m. It was impossible to find the Third Bat- 
talion before daylight, so we curled up in a ditch about four feet 
deep, with water and mud in the bottom two to three inches deep, 
and got what sleep we could. That morning about 5 :30 a comrade 
and myself went out and were successful in our quest for the Third 
Battalion. Then we all got busy and run the line. 

This will give some idea of how difficult and discouraging it is to 
attempt keeping efficient telephone service in advance in open warfare. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 465 

Compliments Rainbow Division 

A resume of activities of the Forty-second, or Rainbow Division, 
together with an acknowledgment of especially heroic performances, 
was made by Major-General Charles T. Menoher in the following 
address issued from Headquarters: 

To the officers and men of the Forty-second Dn'isioji — Rainbow 

Division : 

A year has elapsed since the formation of your organization. It 
is, therefore, fitting to consider what you have accomplished as a 
compact division and what you should prepare to accomplish in the 
future. 

Your first elements entered the trenches in Lorraine on February 
2 1 St. You served on that front for no days. You were the first 
American division to hold a divisional sector and when you left the 
sector June 21st, you had served continuously as a division in the 
trenches for a longer time than any other American division. Al- 
though you entered the sector without experience in actual warfare, 
you so conducted yourselves as to win the respect and afifection of 
the French veterans with whom you fought. Under gas and bom- 
bardment, in raids, in patrols, in the heat of hand-to-hand combat 
and in the long dull hours of trench routine, so trying to a soldier's 
spirit, you bore yourselves in a manner worthy of the traditions of 
our country. 

You were withdrawn from Lorraine and moved immediately to 
the Champagne front where during the critical days from July 14th 
to July 1 8th, you had the honor of being the only American division 
to figiit in General Gouraud's army which so gloriously obeyed his 
order, "We will stand or die," and by its iron defense crushed the 
German assault and made possible the offensive of July i8th, to the 
west of Rheims. 

From Champagne you were called to take part in exploiting the 
success north of the Marne. Fresh from the battle front before 
Chalons, you were thrown against the picked troops of Germany. For 
eight consecutive days you attacked skillfully prepared positions. You 
captured great stores of arms and munitions. You forced the cross- 
ings of the Ourcq. You took Hill 212, Sergy, Meurcy Ferme, and 
Serginges by assault. You drove the enemy, including the Imperial 
Guard Division, before you for a depth of fifteen kilometers. When 
your infantry was relieved, it was in full pursuit of the retreating 
Germans, and your artillery continued to progress and support an- 
other American division in the advance to the Vesle. 

For your services in Lorraine, your division was formally com- 
mended in General Orders by the French Army Corps under which 



466 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

you served. For your services in Champagne, your assembled offi- 
cers received the personal thanks of General Gouraud himself. For 
your services on the Ourcq, your division was officially complimented 
in a letter from the commanding general, First Army Corps, of 
July 28, 191 8. 

To your success, all ranks and all services have contributed, and I 
desire to express to every man in the command my appreciation of 
his devoted and courageous effort. 

However, our position places a burden of responsibility upon us 
which we must strive to bear steadily forward without faltering. To 
our comrades who have fallen, we owe the sacred obligation of main- 
taining the reputation which they died to establish. The influence 
of our performances on our allies and our enemies can not be over- 
estimated for we were one of the first divisions sent from our coun- 
try to France to show the world that Americans can fight. 

Hard battles and long campaigns lie before us. Only by cease- 
less vigilance and tireless preparation can we fit ourselves for them. 
I urge you, therefore, to approach the future with confidence; but, 
above all with firm determination that so far as it is in your power 
you will spare no effort whether in training or in combat to main- 
tain the record of our division and the honor of our country. 

Charles T. Menoher, Major General, U. S. Army. 

Cut Up Balloons for Souvenirs 
Clyde Ibsen, in August, 1918, wrote the following explanation 
about a strip of yellow paper which he enclosed: 

This is a piece of German propaganda balloon. The balloon is 
taken about a mile into the air in an airoplane and turned loose to fall 
behind the American and French lines. Attached to it are German 
papers published in French with cartoons of Wilson kneeling in front 
of the kaiser. This is for the purpose of discouraging the Allies. 
But of course that is impossible. The balloon is about the size of a 
mail bag. The Boches send them up every day and the French and 
Americans return the favor. This piece was taken yesterday and it 
surely had some funny cartoon. It is almost impossible to get a 
piece of the balloon as the soldiers contend for a piece of it to send 
to the folks at home. 

Net Results 
The enemy was kept so constantly engaged that he had no time 
to gather for a counter-attack, and was furthermore confused by 
lack of any indication as to where the next blow might fall. Prac- 
tically all of the territory which Germany had acquired in the spring 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 467 

offensive was recovered by the Allies, though as the enemy retired 
he left a trail of devastation which will cripple the country for years. 
On the days of September 12th and 13th, General Pershing's com- 
mand of French and American troops wiped out an old German sali- 
ent near Metz, taking 200 square miles of territory and 15,000 pris- 
oners. The net results to the Allies by the end of September were 
the capture of a million prisoners, with 3,669 cannon and 23,000 ma- 
chine guns. 

Army Thrice; as Large as Grant's Won St. Mii-iiel 

From the Stars and Stripes : 

Probably few persons, however casually they may have followed 
the larger events of the World War, or however little previous knowl- 
edge they may have had of the geography of Europe, when the 
phrase "Western Front" is mentioned, can fail to recall the two dia- 
grammatic lines which decorated the pages of magazines and news- 
papers for a period of about four years. 

Somewhat like the edges of a sagging curtain they hung down 
over the map of northern France, the upper end fastened to the coast 
line near the westermost corner of Belgium, the lower end similar- 
ly fastened to the frontier of Switzerland. Of the two lines, the 
bottom one, which sagged alarmingly in the middle towards Paris, 
was dotted and generally bore the label, "Farthest German Advance." 

Perhaps the most striking feature of the dotted line, less notice- 
ably reproduced in the solid one, was the sharp kink in it just above 
the sag toward Paris; it was as if the falling curtain had caught on 
a peg there which held it up and prevented it from falling further. 
There was a good deal of truth in the simile because that peg was 
Verdun, and if the French had not gritted their teeth and set their 
strength to keep that peg from breaking, it is very possible that the 
black curtain of Hun domination might have fallen completely over 
western Europe. 

GERMANS STICK AT ONE POINT 

In August and September of 1914 the Germans, in their repeated 
tremendous efforts to take Verdun, had the fortress at one time prac- 
tically surrounded on three sides ; west, north and east. But they 
were eventually forced back completely from the western side and a 
few kilometers on the north and east. 

At one point, however, they stuck. Bavarian troops captured the 
city of St. Mihiel, about thirty kilometers southeast of Verdun, forced 
their way across the Meuse river, on which Verdun also lies, es- 
tablished a small bridgehead around the suburb and hill of Chauvon- 



468 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

court and the western bank, and here fixed a peg of their own which 
for four years remained a constant threat and embarrassment to the 
defenders of Verdun because upon it was hung the St. Mihiel salient. 

This salient, always the sharpest inequality in the western battle 
front, broke forward from the general line of the front near Les 
Eparges, about seventeen kilometers southeast of Verdun. From 
this village, which is on the abrupt edge of the reverse slopes of the 
heights of the Meuse where they drop to the plain of the Woevre, or 
Voivre, the western side of the salient ran almost due south for about 
twenty kilometers, crossing the high, forested hills and descending 
their western slopes into the valley of the Meuse and then crossing 
that river to embrace the small bridgehead directly west of St Mihiel. 

There were scarcely two square kilometers of ground within the 
trenches of this bridgehead, but it was large enough effectually to cut 
the double-track railway from Verdun to Toul, which, reaching on 
the south to Epinal and Belfort, had, before the war, linked up the 
four great fortresses of the French eastern frontier. 

SUBSTITUTE RAILROAD ROUTES 

Deprived of this extremely important line, Verdun was obliged to 
depend for all its rail communications upon the double track line ex- 
tending westward from St. Menehould, supplemented because it was 
so close to the front as to be subject to interruption by another, mili- 
tary, double track line built in 191 6 southwest from Verdun to the 
existing St. Menehould Revigny line at Nettancourt. The substi- 
tute routes were, however, so circuitous that it was a slow process 
to shuttle troops back and forth by them along the eastern frontier 
defenses. 

Crossing the Meuse again just above St. Mihiel and including in 
its circuit Fort du Camp des Romains, the one French fort of the 
line between Verdun and Toul which the Germans captured and held 
through most of the war, the front swung eastward, again crossing 
the heights of the Meuse, and descended into the plain of the Woevre 
at Apremont, northeast of which rose the lofty bulk of Mont Sec, a 
detached hill affording artillery positions to the Germans which for 
miles dominated the Allied lines in the lowlands. 

From Apremont the front ran on by Xivray, Seicheprey, Flirey, 
Limev, Regniville and Fey-en-Haye and through the Foret du Bois 
de Pretre to a point on the Moselle river just above Pont-a-Mousson, 
about forty kilometers from St. Mihiel. The total length of this 
salient was about sixty-five kilometers; at its gorge between Les 
Eparges and Regniville it was about thirty kilometers wide, and 
from the line between these two points it thrust forward from the 
general configuraion of the front about twenty-two kilometers into 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 469 

French territory. Directly back of it and supporting it, with ex- 
cellent rail and road communications, was the great German fort- 
ress of Metz, hardly over fifty kilometers from St. Mihiel. 

During the first year of the war the French made several power- 
ful efiforts to wipe out the St. Mihiel salient with its constantly envel- 
oping threat to Verdun. But, working under the tactical theories 
of trench warfare then in vogue, they met with little success so far 
as ground gains were concerned. 

The first effort was made at Les Eparges, where, in February, 
191 5, they began an attack to break down the face of the hills to the 
])lain of the Woevre. After the attack had been sustained on into 
April the French were in possession of Les Eparges and believed that 
they had killed 30,000 Germans. But their own losses had been very 
heavy, the salient was not yet l:)roken and the effort here was given 
over. 

During the summer of 191 5, they again attacked, this time along 
the southern face and particularly at Apremont, beneath the edge of 
the hills, and at the Bois le Pretre. At the latter place they tried 
to force their way down the deep ravines into the valley of the Mo- 
selle. For months the battle went on, literally from tree to tree, 
until the forest had been wiped from the face of the earth. 

By this time the French had captured most of the few square 
kilometers of ground within the confines of the woodland, but at a 
terrible cost of life, and shortly afterwards a German counter-offen- 
sive of the same nature forced them to relinquish a considerable part 
of the ground gained. From that time until September, 19 18, the 
St. Mihiel salient remained among the "quiet sectors" not because 
the French did not desire to oblierate it but because their forces 
were too constantly engaged on other and more vital fronts to allow 
of the great concentration necessary for its reduction. 

AMERICANS ON salient's EDGES 

Largely because it was a quiet sector lying in that region of east- 
ern France which, from the first entry of the United States into the 
war, had been designated as the zone of operations of the future Am- 
erican armies, several of the American divisions first to arrive were 
placed along different parts of the salient, particularly between Pont- 
a-Mousson and Apremont, as part of their training in becoming 
first-class fighting divisions. 

This was the case with the First and Twenty-sixth Divisions, of 
which at least one, the Twenty-sixth, had a battle there of no insig- 
nificant proportions when one day in April a German shock regiment 
attacked Seicheprey, carried the village, held it for a short time and 
was then ejected by the New Englanders. 



470 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

It was quite natural, therefore, that when the American forces in 
France had at last, by the latter part of August, 191 8, risen to num- 
bers sufficient to constitute an army, having at least nine divisions 
which had participated in the great offensive battles between the 
Marne and the Vesle, and corps staffs which had learned to function 
in command of troops in major operations, the St. Mihiel salient 
should have been selected as the place for the First American Army 
to demonstrate its power and fitness as a fighting unit. 

In addition to relieving Verdun and is rail communications, the 
suppression of the salient would restore 150 square miles of occupied 
French territory, including a city inhabited before the war by 10,000 
people ; would reverse the threat of Cierman attack on Verdun to a 
threat of Allied attack on Metz, and would furnish a base line for 
future operations both against the Briey iron fields just north and 
east of Metz, which were vital to Germany's war industries, and 
against the double track railroad which, running up from Alsace 
through Metz, Montmedy, Sedan and Mezieres to Valenciennes in 
Flanders, furnished the means of transportation by which German 
divisions were rapidly shuttled back and forth as needed from one 
end of their Western battle front to the other. 

FIRST ARMY IN THE MAKING 

The general conception of the operation having taken form, avail- 
able American divisions were gradually drawn into the front and rear 
zones adjacent to the salient, some from the training areas farther 
back, some from the quiet sectors of the front in Alsace and the Vos- 
ges mountains, but particularly a number of divisions which had 
recently gone through the hard fighting in the Marne salient. In 
addition, a considerable number of French troops already in position 
were placed under American command. 

The staff' of the First American Army was created and General 
John J. Pershing, commander-in-chief of the American Expedition- 
ary Forces, himself took command of that army for its first opera- 
tion, as a natural preliminary to assuming command of the group of 
armies which were soon to be organized. 

The first work, necessarily, was the constitution of the army itself, 
a complex mechanism which had to be built and made to work prop- 
erly from the front line back to the Services of Supply, which now, 
for the first time, were called upon to take complete care of their 
own army from their own base ports to their own railheads. 

After that, for the coming operation itself, maps and plans, of 
which the army orders alone, including battle instructions, field 
orders, etc., filled a book of fifty-five pages, were worked out by the 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA \^ISTA COUNTY 471 

staff with a detailed care probably never before bestowed upon the 
preparation of an American army for battle. 

The exact zone of action of every organization, the objectives to 
be attained at certain hours and minutes all along the line, the duties 
to be performed by every one of the multitudinous units of the army ; 
infantry, field, heavy and railway artillery, engineers, tanks, pur- 
suit, reconnoissance, observation and bombing aviation, cavalry, gas 
and flame troops, ammunition and supply trains and other motor trans- 
port. Signal Corps troops, water supply, anti-aircraft defense, hospi- 
tal units, troops charged with the evacuation of prisoners, with traf- 
fic control and with liaison- — ^all these details and many more minutely 
prescribed and no contingency that could be foreseen was left un- 
provided for. 

SEPTEMBER 12 "d day" 

At length September 12th was definitely fixed as "D Day," and 
"H Hour" as 5 o'clock in the morning, and there began the gradual 
concentration of attacking troops along the front, concealed from the 
enemy by every possible artifice and precaution. The troops already 
in sector, which were, from right to left around the salient, the 
Eighty-second, Ninetieth, Eighty-ninth, and First United States Di- 
visions, and the Thirty-ninth, Twenty-sixth, and Second Dismounted 
Cavalry French Divisions, maintained only their normal activities. 
New batteries of artillery coming in were not allowed to register on 
the targets in their zones of fire; aviation activity was not increased, 
and the masses of arriving troops and transport marched by night 
and concealed themselves by day. 

Nevertheless the enemy got an inkling of what was going on, and 
several days before the actual attack he began preparations for evac- 
uating the salient in case of necessity. But, judged by the standard 
of previous German military decision, their measures in his case 
.seem to have been curiously nerveless and hesitating. 

Apparently they were somewhat awed by the magnitude of the prep- 
arations against them; at all events, they neither reinforced the sa- 
lient so strongly as to guard it against any attack, nor frankly gave 
it up and abandoned it; though it should be noted that at this 
time the German mass of reserves was already pretty thoroughly in- 
volved in opposing the British and French offensives between the 
Somme and the Oise. 

In the St. Mihiel salient they stopped some construction work which 
was in progress and began slowly withdrawing some heavy artillery 
and supplies. But, on the othe hand, orders were issued to the troops 
in the sector and those within close supporting distance looking to the 
holding of the positions with the forces on the ground. 

The German defenses, after the expenditure upon them of four 



472 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

years of labor, were naturally strong in themselves. Behind the in- 
tricate and deeply-organized first line they embraced a second line 
called the Schroeter zone, which Avas virtually a smaller salient five 
or more kilometers inside the original one. Starting northeast of 
Les Eparges at one end, it ran south over the heights of the Meuse, 
uilizing their boldest profiles so as just to retain their eastern escarp- 
ments, then near Varvinay, swinging east to Buxieres, and then, be- 
hind the deep valley of the Rupt de Mad, running northeast by Non- 
sard, Lemarche, Beney, and Xammes to Rembercourt. 

Here it connected with the Michel position, the real withdrawal po- 
sition of the salient, which was a part of that ultimate system of de- 
fense called in some places the Hindenburg line, in some the Kriem- 
hilde Stellung, and so on, but which everywhere the Germans re- 
garded as the line on which they should say to the Allies, "Thus far 
and no farther." 

The Schroeter zone covered the roads leading northeast from St. 
Mihiel by Chaillon and north from Apremont by Heudicourt, through 
Vigneulles and St. Benoit-Woevre to Gorze, behind the center of the 
Michel position. It was largely no more than a wire line, well sited 
but only partly intrenched, and, though fairly strong by nature, the 
fact remained that it was a temporary withdrawal position only ; that 
a good 22 kilometers intervened between the St. Benoit crossroads 
and the main salient at either Apremont or the Chauvoncourt bridge- 
head, and that it would be necessary, in case of a strong attack, if the 
forces around the latter points were to escape capture, for the hold- 
ing troops to keep the Schroeter zone intact until the retreating col- 
umns could clear their flanks past St. Benoit. 

DISPOSITION OF enemy's FORCES 

It was to the prevention' of this result that the American 
battle plans were largely directed, and for its accomplishment that the 
Germans made some rather hesitating arrangements. 

Thanks to some German official reports captured some time after 
the event, it is possible to know with more accuracy and detail than 
usual something of the disposition and movements of the enemy's 
forces during the operations in the salient. 

It appears that Lieutenant General Fuchs, commanding Army De- 
tachment "C," disposed in the salient from right to left the Twenty- 
fifth Austro-Hungarian Division, forming, perhaps with troops of the 
Eighth Landwehr Division, to its right, the "Combres, group" ; the 
One Hundred Ninety-second Division and the Fifth Landwehr Di- 
vision forming the "Mihiel group," and the Tenth Division form- 
ing the "Gorze group." The Thirty-first Division was in close re- 
serve, and the One Hundred Twenty-third, the One Hundred 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 473 

Seventh and Eighty-eighth Divisions further away, but within reach. 

On the extreme right flank, lapping over the front which Was ac- 
tually attacked, the Eighth Lanclwehr Division apparently belonged 
to the Fifth Army of General von Francois, while on the extreme left, 
astride the Moselle, was the Two Hundred Fifty-fifth Division, com- 
mand of which, for purposes of better coordination, had been repeat- 
edly requested by Fuchs, but which he did not receive until 5 145 
o'clock on the morning of the attack. 

Probably all of these divisions were very far below 9,000 rifles 
each which the Allies reckoned as the normal strength of German 
divisions, but it was claimed that the One Hundred Ninety-second 
and the Tenth Divisions were particularly depleted, while the Seven- 
tieth was regarded as unreliable because of the large proportion of 
Alsace-Lorrainers in its ranks. 

FOUR ALLIED ARMY CORPS 

The order of battle given differed materially from that presumed at 
the time by the American command, which believed nine divisions to 
be in line with one in support, instead of seven in line with four in 
support. According to the estimate of General Fuchs, he had in line 
one division to each twelve kilometers of front, which perhaps meant 
with disposable reserves, a total of 75,000 men. With their wonder- 
fully organized defense and immense c[uantities of artillery and ma- 
chine guns, such a force could logically be expected to make a very 
stubborn defense. 

On the front to be attacked, General Pershing disposed four Army 
Corps. The First United States Corps was under Major General 
Hunter Liggett and operated from Clemery, east of the Moselle, to 
Limey; the Fourth United States Corps, under Major General Joseph 
T. Dickman, operated from Lime}^ to Xivray; the Second Colonial 
Corps (French), under Major General Blondelat, later under Major 
General Claudel, operated from Xivray to Mouilly, and the Fifth Uni- 
ted States Corps, under Major General George H. Cameron, operated 
from Mouilly to Watronville. 

The First Corps had from right to left the Eighty-second, the 
Ninetieth, the Fifth, and the Second Divisions, with the Seventy- 
Eighth in reserve. Of these the Eighty-second, imder Major General 
William P. Burnham, was to hold fast with its right and follow up 
with its left, which was astride the Moselle, the advance of the line 
further to the west. The Ninetieth, Major General Henry T. Allen; 
the Fifth, Major General John A. McMahon, and the Second, Major 
General John A. Lejeune, were to advance in sectors which, swinging 
on the pivot of the Eighty-second, had a direction first northwest and 
then north, ending in front of the German Michel position. The Sec- 



474 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

oncl Division, which was on the marching flank, had Thiaucourt to 
capture, and was the only division of the corps which would have to 
cross the Rupt de Mad and penetrate, at its extreme left end, the 
enemy's retired salient, or Schroeter zone. 

The Fourth Corps had from right to left, the Eighty-ninth, Forty- 
Second, and First Divisions, with the Third Division in reserve. The 
Eighty-ninth, Major General W. M. Wright, closely cooperating with 
the Second Division in cleaning up trenches and woods, was to move 
in a general northward direction, crossing the Rupt de Mad and the 
Schroeter zone just west of Thiaucourt and driving across the enemy's 
St. Mihiel-Gorze line of retreat just northwest of St. Benoit. 

The Forty-second, Major General Charles T. Menoher, and the 
First, Major General Charles P. Summerall, starting from the region 
of Seicheprey and Richecourt, were to mop up the country around La- 
hayville, St. Baussant, Essey, Pannes, and Nonsard, so heartily hated 
for many weary months by American divisions in training, and then 
to push on to Vigneulles and St. Benoit. 

OBJECTIVES AND EXPIvOlTATlON 

The advance of the First and Fourth Corps was to attain certain 
objective lines by given times; a "ist phase" line just short of the Rupt 
de Mad was to be reached early on the I2th; a "ist day" line em- 
bracing Thiaucourt and the crests beyond the Rupt de Mad as far as 
Nonsard was to be reached by the evening of that day, and a "ist 
phase, 2nd day" line, including Vigneulles and St. Benoit, was to be 
reached as soon as possible on the 13th. 

After this, if not already upon it, the advance was to be carried up 
to the "Army Objective," which would be a line of resistance straight- 
ened out in front of the enemy's Michel position, but at some distance 
from the latter, while the "Line of Exploitation" would carry the 
front, and particularly the outpost zone, as far ahead of the line of 
resistance as it could be forced without undue effort and sacrifice. 

The French Second Colonial Corps had from right to left the Thirty- 
ninth and Twenty-sixth Infantry Divisions and the Second Cavalry, 
with no division in corps reserve. The Thirty-ninth, Brigadier 
General Pougin, was to follow up on its right the attack of the First 
United States Division; the Second Cavalry Division was to follow 
up on its left, across the hills of the Meuse, the attack of the Twen- 
ty-sixth United States Division south of Les Parges. The inner 
flanks of these divisions and the Twenty-sixth Infantry Division, 
Brigadier General Belen, around the points of the salient and east 
and north of St. Mihiel were to press in only strongly enough, by 
means of limited frontal attacks and raids on important points, to 
force the Germans to engage and prevent them from retiring until 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 475 

the American attack could break across their line of retreat near 
Vigneulles and St. Benoit. 

Though it might reasonably be expected that the fighting here 
would not be as heavy as on other parts of the front, the task assigned 
to the Second Colonial Corps was one calling for great tactical skill, 
as the pressure to be exerted would have to be carefully controlled 
according to circumstances if the desired desults were to be achieved. 
The formidable Mont Sec, which lay in the sector of the Twenty- 
ninth Infantry Division, was not to be attacked directly, but engulf- 
ed in the general advance. 

ON salient's western face 

The Fifth United States Corps had in line from right to left the 
Twenty-sixth United States Division and the Fifteenth Colonial In- 
fantry (French), with the Fourth LTnited States Division in reserve. 
The Twenty-sixth Division, Major General Clarence E. Edwards, 
came into the line east of Mouilly on the nth, replacing the French 
Second Cavalry under Major General Hennoque, which dropped back 
to a support position in the rear. 

The Twenty-sixth Division was to make its attack at 8 a. m., three 
hours after the advance should have begun on the south face of the 
salient, and was to drive southeast across the hills and up the creek 
valley of the Ruisseau du Longeau to a "ist day" line just east of the 
village of Dommartin. 

Thence, it was to swing east with its extreme right flank overrun- 
ing Hattanchatel, where it would come into contact with the left of 
the First Division, Fourth Corps, advancing from the other side of 
the salient, and close the enemy's line of retreat from St. Mihiel to 
Gorze. From this line it would then swing northeast down the faces 
of the hills to the army objective line fronting the Michel position on 
the plain of the Woevre. 

To the left of the Twenty-sixth Division, the French Fifteenth 
Colonial Infantry Division, Major General Guerin, swinging on a 
smaller arc of the same semi-circle, was to attack in front the enemy's 
strong positions on the three detached hills of Les Eparges, Combres, 
and Amaranthe while the Twenty-sixth Division was flanking them 
through the creek valley, and after capturing them was to line up with 
the Twenty-sixth Division on the army objective. The -Fourth Uni- 
ted States Division, Major General John L. Hines, of which, at the 
last moment, a part was put in line on the extreme left, was to follow 
up as a hinge, performing the same functions on that flank that the 
Eighty-second Division performed on the other. 



476 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

GREAT ENVELOPING OPERATION 

The whole great maneuver was designed to be, in effect, an envel- 
oping operation, breaking through the bases of the salient, closing to 
its center and pocketing its garrison. Altogether for the attack the 
First American Army had, as indicated above, eight divisions in line 
and three corps in reserve, counting the Fourth as reserve, while in ad- 
dition, the Thirty-fifth and Ninety-first Divisions were in army re- 
serve and the Eightieth and Thirty-third Divisions were available 
if needed. 

This meant about 216,000 xA.merican possibly 48,000 French troops 
in line, and about 190,000 American troops in reserve, or more than 
400,000 American troops for the battle. General Pershing had 
therefore assembled, in the First American Field Army which had 
existed since the Civil War, a mass of x\merican troops considerably 
more than three times as large as had ever before been assembled in 
one army, the largest previous one having been the Army of the Po- 
tomac, under General Grant before Petersburg in 1864-1865, which 
numbered at its maximum about 125,000 men. 

To compare it in numbers with other armies of the past preceding 
the World War, Napoleon's Grand Army at Leipzig numbered 160,- 
000, and that of his Austrian, Russian, and Prussian opponents 240,- 
000; the German army at Sedan numbered 250,000 men, and the Jap- 
anese and Russian armies at Mukden, the largest up to that time au- 
thenticallv recorded in the history of the world, each numbered about 
310,000 men. 

Although General Fuchs was in direct command of the German 
troops in the salient, the real antagonist of the Americans was Gen- 
eral von Gallwitz, the commander of the army group of which Fuchs' 
detachment formed a part. 

Von Gallwitz was an officer of high rank at the beginning of the 
war. He commanded an army group of the German forces during 
the intense fighting arid constant maneuvering in Poland in 191 5. 
Later that year and during part of 1916 he was in command of an 
army in Macedonia, and in the fall of 1916 the Second German Army 
on the Somme was placed under him. 

In Alarch, 191 7, he was put in command of the Fifth Army in the 
\'erdun sector and at a later date was given the army group which 
he still had in September, 191 8. On the score of experience in ma- 
nipulating masses of troops on many victorous fields, the Germans 
certainlyhad rather the best of it. But the sequel showed, as it 
often has done, that in such matters experience and prestige are not 
everything. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 477 

St. Mihiel Attack Clean Cut Victory of American Arms 
From the Stars and Stripes: 

It has seemed worth while to describe in some detail the rather in- 
tricate battle plans of the American army for the reduction of the 
St. Mihiel salient because, from the American side, the description of 
the plans amounts almost to a description of the battle. Seldom in 
history has a military operation been carried out more precisely ac- 
cording to program. 

At I o'clock on the morning of September 12th, the artillery prep- 
aration began with one terrific burst of flame from many hundreds of 
guns, French as well as American, ranging in size from the 75's to 
the great seacoast guns, some as large as 400 mm. in caliber, which, fir- 
ing from railway mounts, carried harassing fire to rail and road junc- 
tions as far behind the German lines as St. Benoit, Mars-la-Tour, 
Gorze, Conflans, and even Metz. 

The stupendous bombardment shook the earth for four hours, driv- 
ing the enemy's troops into their dugouts, tearing up their trenches 
and demoralizing their communications of every description. Mean- 
time, the hundreds of thousands of infantrymen, the hundreds of 
machine guns, the scores of American and French tanks, and the great- 
est assemblage of American, British, and French aviation ever em- 
ployed for a single operation on the western front all waited, tense 
and eager, for the word to sweep forward over the shell torn fields 
and roads and trenches which a heavy rain that had begun in the 
evening was rapidly turning to quagmire. 

rolling barrage starts 

At 5 o'clock, which was still twenty minutes before daybreak of that 
wet and foggy morning, the bombardment of the German front lines 
in the sectors of the First and Fourth Corps suddenly changed to a 
rolling barrage, and behind it the infantry jumped ofif, preceded by 
detachments with wire-cutters and bang"alore torpedoes to destroy 
the numerous successive belts of German entanglements. 

Immediately occurred the first agreeable surprise. The enemy's 
wire was in very poor condition, rusty or broken. Little difliculty 
was experienced in passing it, some of the troops even being able to 
go over or through it without cutting. At most points only scattered 
infantry fire greeted the Americans as they advanced, and upon their 
arrival at the trenches the Gerniaii soldiers began popping up out of 
the dugouts, boyaux, and strong points and surrendering with the 
utmost docility. 

The feats of many individual Americans were exemplified at St. 



478 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Baussant, just north of Seicheprey, where Corporal Frank Smith, 
Company K, One Hundred Sixty-sixth Infantry, Forty-second Di- 
vision, discovering a German machine gun about to open an cnfihid- 
iiig fire on his platoon, shot the gunner, i)ursued the other three men 
of the gun crew, who fled, and after capturing them dashed into the 
village and, single-handed, took sixteen more prisoners in one group. 
Somewhat later the same morning, at Bouillonville, in the sector 
of the Eighty-ninth Division, Sergeant Harry A. Adams, Ci^npany 
K, Three Hundred Sixty-third Infantry, chased a fleeing German 
into one of the houses of the village, fired the last two shots from his 
pistol through the door, which the fugitive slammed behind him, and 
demanded the surrender of the occupants. His demand was com- 
plied with, but he was rather astonished to have something like 300 
Germans, including seven officers, file out and give themselves up to 
him. 

HARD TO KEEP UP WITH RUSH 

It was obvious why streams of prisoners, very soon after the attack 
began, were pouring back to the American rear on every road and 
path. The advance, however, proceeded with all the precautions ar- 
ranged beforehand, the troops flanking the successive woodlands, 
farms, villages, machine gun emplacements, and other probable cen- 
ters of resistance and mopping them up afterward. 

There was some artillery fire from the German batteries further 
back, but otherwise, especially at the beginning, the enemy seemed 
paralvzed and impotent. While the Allied aviation completely con- 
trolled the air, the majestic sweep of the host below rolled on over 
everything so rapidly that few of the tanks or field batteries detailed 
to accompany the front lines could keep up with them. 

From the facts now known concerning the efiforts of the Germans 
to stem the flood, it appears that when the bombardment began, only 
their Seventy-seventh and Tenth Divisions, which had long been in 
sector there , were on the southern front opposite the First and 
Fourth United States Corps. The Thirty-first and One Hundred 
Twenty-third Divisions were assembled in reserve at convenient 
points behind the Michel position, and as soon after the bomlxardmcnt 
began as General von Galhvitz would consent to their movement, 
they were marched toward Thiaucourt. 

Long before they approached it, the Americans had smashed com- 
pletely through the Seventy-eighth and Tenth Divisions, and at 
11:50 a. m. the advance of the Second Division was in Thiaucourt, 
the most important German center and supply depot of the salient. 

General Fuchs thereupon ordered his approaching reserve divis- 
ions to counter-attack, the Thirty-first against Thiaucourt and 
the One Hundred Twenty-third against Vieville-en Haye, southeast 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 479 

of Thiaucourt. But the counter-attack was not vigorous enough to 
have more llian a temporary delaying effect upon the Americans, tlie 
attack on Thiaucourt being put down by Third Brigade of the Second 
Division and tliat on Vieville by the Tenth Brigade of the Fifth Di- 
vision and the troops of the Ninetieth Division. 

The Fifth Division, indeed, was already on its sector of the army 
objective at 10 a. m. and met the counter-stroke there, while the 
Ninetieth reached it at 4 p. m. and the Second at 5 p. m. The lively 
figliting near Thiaucourt and Vieville inspired many deeds of hero- 
ism, such as those of Sergeant E, S. Willis, Company A, Fifteenth 
Machine Gun Battalion, Fifth Division, who led his section with the 
greatest courage and while consolidating his objective was severely 
wounded by shrapnel but remained in command until he fainted from 
weakness; of Private Joseph Thornton, Company I, Eleventh Infan- 
try, Fifth Division, who alone charged an enemy trench with an auto- 
matic rifle and forced the surrender of the occupants, and of Sergeant 
Gilmore Tomlin, Company G, Sixth Infantry, Fifth Division, who 
similarly charged alone a machine gun nest which was firing on his 
company, killed the gunner and captured the gun. 

The Ninetieth Division made its splendid advance through the for- 
bidding waste of the devastated Bois de Fretre, the network of trench- 
es and the woods and deep ravines of its sector largely because of the 
impetuous gallantry in rushing machine gun nests and because of 
such an act as that of Corporal Jesse W. Grisham, Company L, Three 
Hundred Ninety-fifth Infantry, who jumped out of a trench when his 
company was held up by an impassible wire entanglement, ran for- 
ward under heavy machine gun fire and cut sufficient paths for his 
comrades to pass through before he was himself killed. 

SHARP FIGHTING AT QUART DE RESERVE 

The Eighty-ninth, Forty-second and First Divisions, of the Fourth 
Corps, with longer distances to cover, moved forward with as rapid 
strides as the divisions of the First Corps, and the German front lines 
were taken almost as fast as the troops could march over them. 

Probably the most serious opposition anywhere encountered was 
that presented to the First Division by some troops of the enemy's 
Tenth Division at the last trench line of his forward system, where 
it ran through the Quart de Reserve, a small woodland about half 
way between Lahayville and Nonsard. It cost that First Division 
about 600 casualties to take these woods, but nevertheless it was on 
the "ist Phase" line with the rest of the corps front by noon. 

At evening all the divisions of the corps had far overrun the "ist 
Day" line, with the Eighty-ninth in possession of Beney and Xammes, 
the Forty-second well north of Pannes in the Bois de Thiaucourt, and 



48o HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

the First north of Nonsard in the Bois de Nonsard. Though it had 
not experienced the earHer offensive battles of the other divisions in 
the corps, the Eighty-ninth kept fully abreast of them, led by such 
officers as First Lietit. John H. Ale, Three Hundred Fifty-fifth In- 
fantry, who, after losing his right hand and being wounded in the 
chest and both legs and finding that he could not possibly go further, 
told his platoon that he was confident that the pride in their organi- 
zation would enable them to go on without him and with his own su- 
perb courage fired them to continue the advance. 

CAVALRY TAKES A HAND 

The First Division, being on the outer flank, was pushing hard all 
the afternoon to reach and cut the St. Mihiel-Gorze highway between 
Heudicourt and Vigneulles. Before 2 o'clock, tanks and a squad- 
ron of the Second United States Cavalry, closely supported by in- 
fantry, struck west through the Bois de Nonsard and the Bois de 
Creue and by 4 p. m. had crossed the road and taken some prisoners, 
though they were too few to exploit their success, and some of the 
enemy's troops, pressing their retreat in desperate haste from Apre- 
mont before the advancing French, could still make their way 
past, while the road over the hills from St. Mihiel by way of Chaillon 
to Vigneulles was yet open. 

The tanks, waddling about over the fields on their special missions, 
had adventures of their own, like those of the battalion imder Major 
Sereno E. Brett, who went ahead of his tanks on foot and guided 
them through the machine gun and artillery fire all the way from 
Richecourt to the Bois Quart de Reserve, and like that one under 
Captain Harry H. Semmes, which fell into Rupt de Mad and was com- 
pletely submerged, whereupon Captain Semmes, escaping through 
the turret door, found that his driver was still in the tank, and, under 
machine gun fire, returned and rescued him. 

HANDS ACROSS THE SALIENT 

At that time a brigade of the Third Division — Fourth Corps Re- 
serve — having been sent up to reinforce the First Division, the left 
flank of the latter was pushed eastward decisively, and by 10 o'clock 
a company of the Twenty-eighth Infantry was firmly established 
across the important road. At 3:15 a. m. of the 13th the ad- 
vance detachments of the Sixteenth and Eighteenth Infantry, of 
the First Brigade, were in the outskirts of both Vigneulles, in the 
plain, and Hattonchatel, on the brow of the hills, effectually closing 
all remaining roads northward and eastward out of the salient, while 
about 7 o'clock in the morning the patrols of the First and the Twen- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 481 

ty-sixth Divisions encountered one another in Hattonchatel, thus 
joining hands across the base of the obhterated sahent. 

Turning now to the region west of the Fourth United States Corps 
we find the troops of the Second Colonial Corps performing their deli- 
cate mission with the greatest success. At the points where follow- 
up attacks with limited objective were to be made, they were sched- 
uled to jump ofif one hour after the beginning of the general Ameri- 
can advance. 

In accordance with the arrangements, during the course of the 
day the Thirty-ninth French Di\'ision captured Apremont, Loupmont, 
and Mont Sec, forcing the Germans to engage a large part of their 
forces in action, and thus delaying their retreat by the threatened road 
through Heudicourt, Vigneulles, and St. Benoit. The Twenty-sixth 
French Infantry and the Second French Cavalry Divisions, employ- 
ing similar tactics, engaged the Germans around the nose of the sali- 
ent and along its western front. 

Finally, when the proper moment came, they broke through with 
strong raids at Spada and Marie Hill, north of St. Mihiel, clearing 
the Chauvoncourt bridgehead, partially occupying the city of St. Mi- 
hiel, and from Spada driving in to Chaillon, where they came outside 
the road over the heights of the Meuse by which a large part of the 
enemy had to retreat from St. Mihiel to Vigneulles and the Michel 
position. 

AUSTRO-HUNGARIANS ROUTED 

On the extreme left, the Second Cavalry Division vigorouslv sec- 
onded the attack of the Twenty-sixth L^nited States Division, drove 
the troops of the Thirty-fifth Austro-Hungarian Division through 
their successive systems of powerful trenches on the hills and ravines 
slopes overlooking the Meuse Valley, and greatly assisted in reducing 
this division to the stream of panic-stricken fugitives which, as night 
fell, was fleeing blindly through the upland forests towards the open 
plains eastward. 

The attack of the Fifth United States Corps going ofif at 8 a. m. 
had by noon carried the Twenty-sixth United States and the Fif- 
teenth French Colonial Infantry Divisions to the crest of the hill of 
Les Eparges and close up to the western edge of St. Remy and the 
woods of that village, but not without hard fighting. 

Well established in their exceedingly strong positions, the troops of 
the enemy's Combres group, which, in front of the Twenty-sixth 
United States, were the Sixty-third Austro-Hungarian Infantry, 
the right regiment of the Thirty-fifth Austro-Hungarian Division, 
and the Eighty-second Landwehr Regiment of the Eighth Division, 
and, in front of the Fifteenth French Colonial Infantry Division, the 



482 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Fifteenth and Fiftieth Regiments of the Eighth Landwehr Division, at 
first made a vigorous defense. 

But they were heavily outnumbered, and, although, after the Fif- 
teenth French Colonial Division had captured the crest of Les Epar- 
ges Hill, a counter-attack by three or four reserve companies of the 
Fifteenth Landwehr Regiment recovered a part of the ground, they 
were soon driven back, while on the rest of the front the enemy grad- 
ually gave way without any attempts at reaction. 

Until night parts of the Seventh Landwehr Division clung to the 
eastern crests of the hills of Les Eparges, Combres, and Amaranthe, 
and then retreated to the Voivre plain. Forcing its way after the 
retiring Austro-Himgarians, however, the Twenty-sixth Division 
drove them first from their strong Tranche de Tilsit, then from the 
Tranche de Kiel, and, finally following their disordered retreat 
through the woods, captured the villages of St. Remy and Doumartin. 

ordj;red forward to vigneulles 

Toward evening an order came to the Twenty-sixth to push a bri- 
gade forward to Vigneulles. The regiment in divisional reserve 
together with the divisional machine gun battalion, were at once 
stai^ted across the hills for that objective and reached it and Hat- 
tonchatel by 2 a. m. of the 13th, while the other regiment of the bri- 
gade, which had to be assembled from deployment, followed a few 
hours later. At 7 a. m. of the 13th, as previously mentioned, liai- 
son was complete across the base of the salient on the army objective. 

The efforts put forth by the Germans against the attack on Sep- 
tember 1 2th seem to have been singularly ineffectve. Undoubtedly 
this was largely due to their great inferiority of numbers, but it does 
not appear th3.t General von Gallwitz might not have remedied this 
and made a better showing. His subordinate, General Fuchs, had 
warned him repeatedly of the imminence of a heavy American attack 
on the salient, yet he let matters drift without guaranteeing the safety 
of the troops and the vast quantities of material which it contained 
either by reinforcement or retirement. 

When the attack broke on the south front, several days before even 
Fuchs looked for it, the Eighty-seventh Division at once went to 
pieces, as had been anticipated, while the Tenth Division, to its right, 
though a somewhat higher state of morale caused it to fight as it 
retired, had its flank in the air and could do nothing efifective. 

Fuchs' appeals to his higher command brought no response in the 
way of support, and he early devoted the body of his local reserves, 
the Thirtieth and One Hundred Twenty-second Divisions, to the 
counter-attacks in the region of Thiaucourt, which at least resulted 
in saving the part of his Michel position northeast of there from be- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 4S3 

ing pierced by the exploitation of the First United States Corps from 
its army objective. 

VAIN ATTEMPTS TO STEM TIDE 

Shortly before noon, Fuchs learned that the American advance on 
the south had pushed the Tenth Division back across the Rupt de 
Mad, and he then received information from the other flank that his 
Combres group had been attacked, that St. Remy had fallen, and that 
the Combres Hill was also probably lost. 

Although at that time the One Hundred Ninety-second Division, 
along the hills north of St. Mihiel, and the Fifth Landwehr Division, 
eastward to Apremont, seemed able to withstand the French attacks, 
Fuchs, alarmed by the rapid penetration of the American columns 
from south and northwest toward their line of retreat at VigneuUes 
and St. Benoit, hastily issued orders transferring the defense to the 
Schroeter zone and directing the retreat of the One Hundred Ninety- 
second and the Fifth Landwehr Divisions upon that line. 

At the same time he sent instructions to various scattered battal- 
ions and companies, at rest or working in the rear areas, to converge 
upon Nonsard and Lemarche for the protection of the St. Benoit 
crossroads. But about 2 o'clock Pannes and Nonsard had been taken 
by the Forty-second and First Divisions, and the cavalry and tanks 
as the latter division was advancing eastward toward the road be- 
tween Heudicourt and VigneuUes, while some forty deep-flying battle 
planes were attacking the chateau grounds and crossroads of St. Be- 
noit with machine guns and grenades, and the French were driving 
back the One Hundred Ninety-second Division from the heights of 
the Meuse. 

LAST ENEMY RESERVES THROWN IN 

Everything was tumbling in and, the Schroeter zone being already 
broken at Nonsard, Fuchs gave up hope of defending it and ordered 
everything back to the Michel position, meantime devoting all his 
efforts to patching up some sort of a line for delaying the irresistible 
rush of the First and Forty-second Divisions toward Heudicourt, 
VigneuUes, and St. Benoit. 

On his own initiative, the commander of the Fifth Landwehr Di- 
vision had already ordered the two resting battalions of his Twenty- 
fifth and Twenty-sixth Landwehr Infantry Regiments to counter- 
attack the American advance north of Heudicourt, establishing flank 
contact with the other regimental fragments which were trying 
to constitute a line through the woods toward a point southeast of 
St. Benoit, and it was probably with these battalions that the Sec- 
ond Cavalry collided on the road between Heudicourt and VigneuUes. 



484 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY ,,/ 

About 5 130 in the afternoon the Eighty-eighth Division, Fuchs' 
last reserve, having arrived within reach for use, was ordered into 
the retirement sector of the Tenth Division in the Michel position 
for the protection of the right flank of the Gorze group. 

This disposition Fuchs probably made because by this time there was 
not much left of the original Gorze group — the Tenth and Seventy- 
seventh Divisions — to occupy its assigned sectors in the new battle 
zone of the Michel position. The burden of holding the latter had 
fallen upon the Thirty-first and One Hundred Twenty-third Division, 
still fighting east and northeast of Thiaucourt, and the Eighty- 
eighth Division. 

Even the division which was in line just to the left of the Gorze 
group, the Two Hundred Fifty-fifth, was being pushed back down the 
Moselle by the vigorous follow-up attack of General Burnham's 
Eighty-second Division, slowly but steadily advancing northward to- 
ward Norroy. 

All through the afternoon the stafifs of the German divisions which 
were still down toward the point of the salient seem to have been find- 
ing pressing business at the rear, establishing new posts of com- 
mand well behind the Michel position a good many hours before any 
of their retreating troops were even up to Vigneulles. Indeed, it was 
2:30 o'clock in the morning of the 13th before the army detachment 
commander had any news of the One Hundred Ninety-second Divis- 
ion, whose advance was at that hour reported as having at last arriv- 
ed in the Michel position. How much more of it eventually arrived 
there, or how much of the Fifth Landwehr Division, is very uncertain. 

CANNON LOSSES LAID TO BURSTS 

However well Fuchs may have done with inadequate forces against 
overwhelming odds and considering the utter lack of support from 
his army group, he seems to have done very well — he was, at least in 
his reports thus far available, very far from frank in his admission 
of losses. He ascribed to the One Hundred Ninety-second- Division 
total casualties of 715 officers and men, most of them missing, and 82 
machine guns and minenwerfers, and to the Fifth Landwehr Divis- 
ion casualties of 624 officers and men, also chiefly missing, and 82 ma- 
chine guns and minenwerfers and two cannon, the latter on account 
of bursts in bore. 

Of the losses of other divisions he says nothing', yet, as a matter of 
fact, the First American Army took in the operation approximately 
14,500 prisoners, 443 pieces of artillery, and enormous quantities of 
other material, by far the greater part during the first twenty-four 
hours after the attack. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 485 

The Seventy-seventh German Division, according to all evidence, 
was virtually wiped out, while the Tenth Division and the Thirty- 
fifth Austro-Hungarian Division suffered very heavily, indeed, the 
Twenty-sixth United States Division alone taking 2,330 prisoners in 
the fig"hting at the northwest corner of the salient, a large part of 
them Austro-Hungarians. 

The suppression of the St. Mihiel salient was virtually accomplished 
within the space of one day, for in that time the army objective was 
reached, if not overrun, at all points. During September 13th, 14th, 
and 15th further progress, averaging three or four kilometers, was 
registered along most of the front, frequently at the cost of hot local 
fighting. 

THROUGH BROKEN COUNTRY 

It was in such fighting that the line of the Second Division, for 
example, was carried forward through the broken country bordering 
the Rupt de Mad about Jaulny and Bembercourt by the impetuous 
daring of such men as Private G. M. Chatman, Seventy-fifth Com- 
pany, Sixth United States Marines, who, being with his platoon in 
an outpost position, which was being harassed by three German snip- 
ers, jumped out, under the fire of their own rifles and that of machine 
guns, charged them alone and overcame them. 

Further to the right, in the sector of the Nineteenth Division, how 
close the opposition lines were on the second day of the fight may be 
realized from the fact that, while some American officers were hold- 
ing a conference in a dugout on the outpost line near Vilcey, a Ger- 
man patrol darted across the foot bridge over the little stream which 
winds past Vilcey and threw a hand grenade into the dugout. Cor- 
poral Willie Greene, Company B, Three Hundred Fifty-eighth In- 
fantry, who was close by, promptly stood on the grenade to save his 
officers from injury, and then, from his precarious position, shot two 
of the retreating enemy patrol. 

At the end of three days of this sort of work, when the Americans 
virtually came to a stop close up before the Michel position, every- 
where except for a short distance in the center, where most of the 
■large Lake of Lachaussee remained for the ensuing few weeks within 
the German lines, the outposts were ahead of the projected line of 
exploitation and within a dozen kilometers of such places as Mars-la- 
Tour, Vionville, and Gravelotte, whose bitter memories of 1870 were 
soon to be effaced from the minds of the French people. 

FOUR years' situation REVERSED 

At last the situation of four years was reversed. The American 
observatories on the redeemed heights of the Meuse, particularly the 



486 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

one at Hattonchatel dominated the enemy's positions as formerly 
from Mont Sec the Germans had dominated Xivray, Seicheprey, FH- 
rev, and all the low country for miles south of these villao;es. 

Besides the great number of prisoners and gains whose capture has 
already been mentioned, the Americans and French took in the salient 
vast quantities of light railway material and rolling stock, including 
railway artillery, and all kinds of other military stores which the ene- 
my left intact in his precipitate retreat. All through the woods were 
cantonments vast enough for the army which they at times contained, 
arranged with every comfort and convenience that semi-permanent 
field cantonments could afford, left standing with everything in them 
— bunks and bedding, stoves, dishes, cooking utensils, personal prop- 
erty, even sometimes meals cooked and ready to be eaten on the 
tables. 

As an example of the booty won in the eastern part of the salient, 
the Third Brigade, Second division, which captured Thiaucourt and 
repulsed the German counter-attack there, losing in its operation five 
officers and 8i enlisted men killed, and nine officers and 274 enlisted 
men wounded, took from the enemy over 3,000 prisoners, including 
74 officers, 92 pieces of artillery, including some guns of as large cali- 
ber as eight inches loaded on cars in Thiaucourt, 6,000 rifles and 200 
machine guns, over $5,000,000 worth of ammunition, a hospital train 
complete with locomotive, a trainload of ammunition and. 51 other 
standard-guage cars, numerous lumber yards, and hundreds of tons 
of wire, tools, and other material. 

VICTORY COST 7,000 CASUALTIES 

Materially, this victory, perhaps the swiftest and most spectacular 
ever achieved on the western front, yielded enormous prizes, and they 
were gained at a cost of 7,000 casualties over fields, where, in earlier 
efforts, the French had sometimes given many times that number to 
win a single trench. 

At St. Mihiel, America proved to her Allies that they had not 
trusted her in vain; to her enemies that, in flouting her, they had 
sealed for themselves irrevocably fate's decree of ignominious defeat. 
Between the Argonne and the Meuse she was soon to bear, with those 
same Allies, a glorious part in carrying that decree into final exe- 
cution. 

Through St. Mihiel 

Written by Aage Eskildsen, Company C, Three Hundred Fifty- 
seventh Infantry, Ninetieth Division. 

Our approach to the St. Mihiel salient was by a series of night 
marches which lasted for nearly two weeks. Enroute we stopped at 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 487 

Martincourt, five miles back of the front-line trenches, where we 
spent a few days cleaning up yards and streets. After three days of 
training as to how to hold front-line trenches we camped in the tim- 
ber a half mile out of Martincourt. On September loth the comman- 
der sent the supply man after food supplies, but a shell hit him, blow- 
ing man, cart, and horse all to pieces, so we cUd not get anything to 
eat until the night of the nth, when a small portion of corned beef 
was provided for each man. At night, after we got this little to 
eat, we started for the front in a driving rain, reached the trenches 
at I o'clock, remained here until 5 o'clock in the morning, when we 
went o\'er the top for the first time. We started with 250 men and 
at the finish of the fight had 137 left. Twelve were dead and the 
rest wounded. 

In this advance my friend, Lauritz ■Nlikkelsen, was shot down — he 
with whom I had been since I had left Storm Lake. We had driven 
the Germans out of their first and second-line trenches and were 
waiting for our barrage to lift before taking the third line, when a 
German soldier stood up and called, "Kamerad." Our sergeant or- 
dered Mikkelsen to take the Boche back to another group of prison- 
ers. Mikkelsen turned his head to answer the sergeant and just that 
minute the German whipped a revolver out of his sleeve, shot Mik- 
kelsen through the breast and then ran back to the trenches. But 
our sergeant went right after him and got him when he was going to 
leave the trenches. 

We then took the third line trenches; that day we drove the Ger- 
mans seven miles, taking lots of prisoners and ammunition and also 
a small training camp. That night, between 10 and 12, we dug our- 
selves in, which means to dig a hole in the ground large enough to 
lay on one's knees, sometimes two or three in one hole, and always a 
foot of water in the bottom. Over there if a hole is dug two feet 
in the ground water will seep into it, and it was the same on a hill 
top as in the valley. 

For three days we had only what rations we carried, but on the 
third day the kitchens came up about noon. At 6 o'clock on the 15th, 
we again went over the top and drove the Germans back two miles or 
more. The 23d of September, we were still at the same front. On 
this date a new supply of blankets came up and we were put in a dug- 
out; but the Germans put three shells in that same dugout, ruining 
every blanket and also burying three of our men whom we had to 
dig out. For three days and nights we dug trenches without any 
sleep at all. 



488 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Advanced Nineteen Kilometers 

Written by Howard Crissy, Company M, One Hundred Sixty- 
eighth Regiment, Forty-second Division. 

The night of September nth we were camped in the Forest de la 
Reine, about ten kilometers from where we were to hit the line on 
the St. Mihiel salient. In spite of the heavy rainstorm which pre- 
vailed most of the night, we had orders to l^e in the front line trenches 
by midnight. However, the traffic of guns and supplies was so heavy 
that we could not make it by the specified time. 

Our barrage started at i a. m., and luckily for us the Germans did 
not return much of a barrage, for we were still in the open because 
we could not reach the trenches from which we were to make the at- 
tack until about 2 -.7,0 a.m. We started from this trench at 
the schedule time of 5 105. The guides who had been assigned to our 
company to lead us through the wire entanglements had all been 
either killed or wounded, so we had to find our own way. We had 
some trouble keeping up with the rest of the outfit on account of 
its being dark and rainy, .yet managed to catch up even with them as 
we hit the German lines. About the second line is where we first 
saw tanks in action. We struck pretty stifif fighting from the 
time we hit their lines until we reached the woods back of their third 
line. 

It was here that we sufifered most of the casualties of this bat- 
tle. Though we had some difficulty in clearing up the machine gun 
nests in the woods it was in this part of the fight that we captured 
quite a number of prisoners, for each of these nests usually had eight 
to ten men. 

From here we continued to a little village, meeting a stifif fight to 
take the heights leading to the village. After capturing that we 
went on to a little town named Essay which we took about noon. This 
was about the place that we were to reach by night, our first day's 
objective. Here we first got sight of released French civilians. They 
were very much suprised to see American soldiers and did not waste 
much time getting back to the interior of France. At Essay we were 
"leap frogged" by the Second Battalion, and followed in reserve of 
the First and Second. \\'ith only about forty men and no officers 
left in our company we followed on to the village of Pannes, where 
we sta}'ed all night. Here we captured a great amount of arms and 
ammunition. I saw the ruins of an artillerv camp here. Dead horses 
were strewn all around. 

The next morning we were awakened by the artillery which had 
moved up during the night. We moved forward about 5 o'clock on to 
the towns of Beney and St. Benoit. At Beney we saw quite a num- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 489 

ber of large captured cannon, and found the cellars well stocked with 
beer and wine — and no drinking water anywhere near us. We 
moved into the woods of Dampvitoux, our final objective, about 9:30 
in the morning. We had proceeded faster than schedule, and be- 
cause the new positions had to be protected by artillery and munitions 
before foodstuffs were allowed to come up we did not get anything to 
eat until noon of the 14th. Altogether we advanced a distance of 
nineteen kilometers. 

Later, when our outfit was assigned to duty with the Army of Oc- 
cupation, I was billeted in the house of a man who fought at St. Mi- 
hiel and whose son was killed in the action at Beney in which our 
regiment recovered the town from the Germans. When he realized 
that we belonged to the same outfit that had killed his son it was ne- 
cessary to restrain him and to remove him from the vicinity in order 
to prevent his doing harm to our men. 

The tanks were of considerable help to us, as they would go right 
through the wire entanglements and make paths for us to go through ; 
also would destroy machine-gun nests. I saw one tank in trouble in 
a trench which was too deep and too wide for it to go through. The 
last I saw of it it was still trying to get out. These tanks were small 
French tanks operated by American soldiers. 

In the Coast Artillery 

Written by Sergeant Emmet L. Holmes, Battery B, Fifty-seventh 
Artillery, Thirty-first Brigade. 

The memory of my experience at the front will always be with me, 
but war and the actual feeling and emotions derived from an active 
part in it can never be truly pictured to others, therefore I trvtst that 
an effort will be appreciated. 

Our regiment, the Fifty-seventh Coast Artillery, went into posi- 
tion on the nth of September and the drive commenced on the fol- 
lowing morning about 5 o'clock. The drive was planned so perfect- 
ly that we met but little resistance and the doughboys had gained 
their objective by 8 130 a.m. 

It was in this position that we experienced our first night air raid. 
The town of Vignot was well protected, as a great many caves had 
been built and at the first signal the women and children ran scream- 
ing to the caves. But the excitement of it all was too great for us 
and it was with an effort that the officers kept vis off the streets. All 
that could be heard was the hum of the engines and the bursting of 
the dropped bombs. A bomb fell on either side of the road where our 
guns were located, missing the emplacement by about fifty feet. 
When an Allied plane took pursuit a battle was staged above us. 



490 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

We could hear the two motors humming, each with its different hum, 
and could see the flashes from the machine guns though the machines 
themselves could not be seen. The sensation of having someone over 
you dropping bombs when you cannot see is one not to be forgotten. 

We received orders on the i8th to convoy to the Verdun front, 
which movement took us two days, and on arriving there we were 
given a position near what was formerly the vihage of Montzeville, 
better known as Dead Man's Hill. In front of us was the Hinden- 
burg line. This drive was wonderfully planned and thousands of 
guns were brought up and put into position in less than four days 
time. No guns, trucks, or other mtmitions were moved in this sec- 
tion during the day, and in the great valley in which we were located 
there was no visible movement that would signify that artillery was 
being massed, yet at night the roads were one moving mass which 
never stopped a minute. There were guns of all calibre, trucks con- 
taining supplies, ammunition trains, machine gun carts, and men 
moving toward the front, going into position every little distance. 
When daylight came this activity ceased and it was as quiet in this 
sector as on the preceding day. We were shelled by Fritz, of course, 
but only a couple of times a day, while our guns and the reserve ar- 
tillery going in never fired a shot. This was classed as the greatest 
concentration of artillery during the war. 

At the end of the fourth day, which was September 25, General 
Pershing drove into the village to talk with our officers, and we later 
learned that this was to see that everything was in readiness for the 
drive. A few of the 75's opened up that evening about 11 :i5, and at 
12:25 a.m. every gun was fired at rapid fire, which kept up for six 
hours, after which a slower fire was ordered which kept up for four- 
teen hours. For the first six hours the noise was terrific and the 
whole valley was one mass of fire from the discharge of the guns. 
Every battery had a definite schedule to work out and everything was 
like clock work. The smaller guns put over the barrage for the in- 
fantry and the 155's, eight-inch, and fourteen-inch naval guns did 
the destruction work back of the German lines. Our battery, which 
had the 155's, first fired at a German artillery battery, silencing it 
in twenty-five minutes; then an ammunition dump, next a concentra- 
tion of troops, then a convoy of supplies which was retreating, then 
a reserve infantry camp, and so on until the schedule was completed. 
The following morning we could see long lines of German prisoners 
filing back through the heavy fog and some told us that nothing 
could live through such a bombardment and that all they could do 
was to retreat or surrender. 

Two days later we moved to a position further on near Esnes to 
take part in another drive October 4th. From there we moved to 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 491 

Cuisy, where we were for two weeks, firing every day from three to 
five hours at both rapid and slow fire. Rapid fire is one shot from 
each of four guns e^'ery thirty seconds, while slow fire is generally 
about fifteen shots an hour at irregular intervals. We were often 
called upon to fire upon a wood filled with German machine guns 
which the infantry could not take. We would put 150 or more shots 
into it in less than twenty minutes and there would then be very 
little resistance. We next went into position in the Argonne for- 
ests near Romagne on the Argonne-Meuse front. Here we were 
stationed in the edge of the wood and had to work thirty hours 
straight getting the guns into place, as it rained for three days pre- 
ceding this, with the consequence that the wood was one big mud 
hole. Here we were shelled by the Germans every day and lost sev- 
eral men. Every night we were disturbed by three or four gas 
alarms, which proved in most cases to be sneeze gas, so no one was 
seriously affected. We took part in the great November ist drive 
which pushed the Germans back fifteen kilometers, or about eleven 
miles. As soon as the heavy firing ceased our battalion was made a 
pursuit battalion and ordered to move forward in pursuit. The fol- 
lowing day we started to go into position just west of the village of 
Bantheville, but before we had the guns set up we learned that the 
Germans were retreating so fast we would be out of range, so we 
went into position north of Beaufort and just one mile back of the 
German front line. Here we were shelled continually and our bat- 
tery lost three men killed, eleven wounded, and six gassed. I was 
in charge of the communication work of the battery and it was almost 
impossible for us to keep our telephone lines open on account of shell 
fire, but by working day and night we were able to establish commu- 
nication so that we could continue firing. 

Our orders for the morning of November nth were to cease firing 
promptly at 10:55, but we kept firing steadily until that fime, while 
the Germans kept putting them all arovmd us until the agreed time. 
I think that afternoon seemed more quiet to me than any I can 
remember. 

Our battery received four citations for excellent firing and valued 
support in the drives, and yet another for being the battery of 155's 
nearest the front lines. 

Trained Ammunition Supervisors 

Written by Sergeant R. H. Leonard of the Ordnance Detachment 
of the Munitions Office, Corps Artillery, Fourth Army Corps. 

On my arrival at intermediate ordnance ammunition depot No 4, 
on April 15, 1918, we found a great amount of work in store for us. 



492 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

This depot was between Verizon and Bourges, France, about one 
kilo from the village of Foecy, and nearly ninety mile south of Cha- 
teau Thierry. 

A general idea of the size of this ammunition depot can be gained 
from the fact that it was composed of eight warehouses, each i,ooo 
feet long by seventy-five feet wide, with twelve-foot sides. Railroad 
tracks were laid on both sides of each building, so one train could be 
loading ammunition for the front, while on the other side could be 
unloaded cars of ammunition which was being received. This was 
an intermediate base depot, where the ammunition was first brought 
from the ports on its arrival from the LTnited States or England, or 
from the French factories. 

From here we sent ammunition to the various army ammunition 
dumps in the advanced sectors, of which I will relate later. Space 
will not permit me to go into the many details of this place. By July 
all of these buildings were full, with nearly twice as much stored on 
the grounds outside. The munitions consisted of American thirty- 
ball calibre and forty-five calibre cartridges, also four point seven's 
and fourteen-inch shells, French 75's, 155's, 120's, and other sizes, also 
British eight-inch and nine point two inches. 

The spring of 1918 at this place found ordnance men, infantry 
men, artillery men, and engineers all busy building warehouses and 
railroads, and taking care of the ammunition which was coming in on 
us so fast. In July I was sent through an ammunition school where 
w€ were given a course preparatory for handling and supervising all 
the various kinds of shell, ponders, fuzees, pyrotechnics, etc., on ad- 
vance ammunition dumps at the front. In August I was sent to 
Dongermain, in the Lorraine sector, an advanced army dump to 
which we had shipped ammunition from intermediate depot No. 4. 

We called these dumps railheads. The munitions had been trans- 
ported thus far by broad-gauge railroad, and from here the smaller, 
narrow gauge railroad hauled the supply as far toward the front as 
it was possible for them to go, to what were called corps or division 
dumps. I was at this place only two days when I was transferred to 
duty with the First Army ammunition and artillery park on the other 
side of Toul near the front. I was on corps and division dumps in 
this sector until after the St. Mihiel drive of September 12th, when 
the First Army left for the front and the Second Army was formed, 
in which I was attached to the munitions staff of the artillery of 
the Fourth Army Corps. 

Our batteries had left a great amount of ammunition at gun em- 
placements on the 1 2th, as they had been equipped for three days fir- 
ing and only fired from i o'clock in the morning until a few hours 
later when the advance had to be made in such haste that this supply 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 493 

of ammunition was left behind at the old gun positions and only a 
small portion could be moved ahead at that time. Soon after the 
drive I was put in charge of some trucks, salvaging good material, 
moving it ahead to advance dumps to be reissued. This work was 
continued until in October when preparations were made for the 
drive on Metz. Then I was put in charge of a dump near Thiau- 
court, about twenty-five kilos from Metz. The corps and division 
dumps were stationed around the heavy artillery, and from here the 
various divisions drew their supplies of ammunition by trucks and 
horse drawn caissons to their various battery and infantry positions. 
After the armistice was signed, and on the 15th of November, I 
started with the Fourth Corps troops toward Germany, where we 
were stationed at Mayen, about twenty-five kilometers from Coblenz, 
where we established our corps dump. In January, 1919, I was 
sent by the chief ordnance ofticer to the Third Army at Coblenz to 
recheck German ammunition and grenade depots in the vicinity of 
Coblenz and across the Rhine near Neuvied. In February I helped 
supervise the clearing out of ammunition at the fort across the Mo- 
selle from Coblenz. This fort was called "Testa France." From 
out of these underground dungeons we took millions of rounds of 
British and French small arms ammunition which, during the pre- 
ceding four years, the Germanshadcaptured, then policed ofif the fields 
and stored in this place. We also took out of this arsenal a quantity 
of German material which we shipped toward the United States. On 
March 8th I received orders from General Headc^uarters to leave at 
once for replacement camp in France, for transportation home and 
immediate discharge, which was good news. I will say in conclu- 
sion that being on an advanced ammunition dump under the enemy's 
shell fire is not the most pleasant experience — and occasionally thev 
located and blew up our dumps. 

What Won the September Drive 

This victory over the Germans was the result of three elements: 
(i) the dogged steadfastness of the British and the heroism of the 
French soldiers and civilians; (2) the brilliant strategy of General 
Foch, and the unity of command which made this effective; (3) the 
material and moral encouragement of the American forces, of whom 
nearly 1,500,000 were in France before the end of August. 

AusTRiANs Battle Southerners 

During the same summer Austria initiated an offensive against the 
Italians along the Piave River, probably with the design of drawing 



494 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Allied forces away from the western front. The Italians proved an 
adequate force, which repulsed the Austrians with heavj- losses. 

The Balkans and Near East 

The Balkan front was also a scene of great military activity. A 
mixed army of Serbians, Greeks, Italians, British, and French under 
the command of General D'Esperay, who held headquarters in Sa- 
lonica, held the line from the Adriatic Sea to the ^gean. They 
were opposed by an army of Bulgarians, Austrians, and Germans. 
The defeat of the Germans in the west was a substantial encourage- 
ment to the Allied forces in this territory, and the enemy whom they 
faced was weakened b}' the withdrawl of troops to be used on the 
western front. Under these conditions Allied forces began an offen- 
sive, making advance after advance, capturing many thousands of 
prisoners and recovering many miles of Albanian and Serbian terri- 
tory. Bulgaria appealed for an armistice, accepted the terms de- 
manded, and withdrew from the war. This action on their part cut 
off the lines of communication between the Central Powers and Tur- 
key and effectively curbed Germany's domination in the Balkans. 
The moral effect in Germany, Austria, and Turkey was the greatest 
result of this campaign. To the general public of these countries it 
brought significance to the indications that it was only a question of 
time until the Central Powers must surrender. 

Developments were opening in Palestine and Syria, meanwhile. 
The British army of General Allenby, who captured Jerusalem in the 
latter part of 1917, was reenforced by Arab forces. An aggressive 
joint campaign resulted in the capture of 50,000 Turkish soldiers 
and hundreds of guns. The cities of Damascus and Aleppo, both 
important, were taken by General AUenby's men in October. This 
was followed by a British offensive in Mesopotamia. Turkey now 
appealed for an armistice and on October 31st agreed to terms which 
meant complete surrender. 

Dissolution in Austro-Hungary; the establishment of independent 
governments by the Czechs, the Hungarians, and the Jugo-Slavs 
through revolutions in the several territories involved; the victory 
of the Italians at the second battle of the Piave, all contribu- 
ted to discouragement to the cause of the Central Powers. 

The second battle of the Piave was opened October 24th, with the 
Allied forces under the command of General Diaz. Thev crossed the 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 495 

river and broke up the Austrian lines. Through the capture of im- 
mense numbers of men and guns the ItaHans performed a miHtary 
feat that accorded them vengeance for the defeat of the year before. 
Austria agreed to an armistice November 4th. 

On Italian Battle Front 

Written by Carl C. Hansen of Company C, Three Hundred Thirty- 
second Regiment, Eighty-third Division. 

Our regiment was the only fighting unit of soldiers sent to Italy. 
We were sent to France in the first place, but were transferred to 
Italy after being in France five weeks. Our regiment went to the 
front lines on the 28th day of October, 1918, and remained there until 
the armistice was signed. In the course of that time we advanced 
from Treviso, Italy, to Carmon, Austria. The greatest sutifering 
of our army life was experienced during this time, when we were 
practically without food, found it necessary to sleep out of doors, 
often when it was raining or when nights were so cold as to be ex- 
ceedingly uncomfortable. I often wonder now how we ever got back 
to the good old U. S. A. 

It took us five days to start the Austrians back from the Piave 
River, and when we reached the Taglimento River the Austrians 
made their last stand. There they opened fire on us with twenty- 
four machine guns, which made it decidedly uncomfortable just then. 
My pal was killed right beside me, while I didn't get a mark of any 
kind. I was born lucky, that's all. In that battle, called the bat- 
tle of Vittorio Veneto, our regiment won great fame with the 
Italian people. 

We captured over 13,000 prisoners, who were as glad as we were 
that it was over. They just refused to fight. They were a hard- 
looking bunch of men, I must say. 

Compel German Retreat 

With the Germans driven back to their former lines in France, the 
fear of the Allies was that the military operations would return to 
the difficult form of trench warfare. However, they made their of- 
fensive so strong that the Germans, even though strongly entrenched 
in some cases to a depth of ten miles, could not hold out against the 
terrific drive of Americans and Allies. Attacks were launched at 
both ends and in the center. By October 20th, British and Belgian 
troops, fighting in the north, recovered to the Allies all of the Bel- 
gian coast, together with submarine bases. The British took the 



496 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

city of Lens, where are located valuable coal mines, as well as the 
city of Lille. 

Troops fighting at central points forced their way to and took pos- 
session of Cambrai, St. Quentin, and Laon. 

Bellicourt 

Harry W. Larson of Company K, One Hundred Twenty-ninth In- 
fantry, Thirtieth Division, writes of the attack at Bellicourt, on the 
Hindenburg line, which took place September 29th-30th, 1918. 

At II o'clock of the night of September 23d, our regiment was 
loaded into big army trucks and rushed south about seventy miles. 
We arrived at Tincourt about 6 o'clock in the morning. We were 
then at the Somme front, in the St. Quentin sector. We marched 
about six miles to a big forest, where we stayed under cover all day. 
On the night of the 27th, having kept moving, we were within about 
3,000 yards of the trenches. We rested in dugouts that night and all 
the next day. Then we found that we were to take part in a big bat- 
tle. The Australians had, about six days before, driven the enemy 
back over this same ground, and many dead Germans were piled up 
along the roads and elsewhere. The enemy was shelling the dug- 
outs where we were covered, and were putting over. gas. Our task 
was to aid in breaking the famous Hindenburg line. Our division 
and the Twenty-seventh, being shock troops, were put in for the sac- 
rifice. 

On the 29th of September, at 5:50 in the morning, we were to 
make the attack. This was a Sunday morning. We rested all dav 
Saturday, until late in the afternoon. Then we had additional am- 
munition issued, also hand grenades, flares and rockets for signal- 
ing, and smoke bombs. I was a Lewis gunner ; there were eight au- 
tomatic machine gims in the company. In the eight squads there 
were that number of gunners, and leaders, the rest carrying ammu- 
nition. 

Sunday morning about 2 o'clock our company was lined up, ready 
to go to the front and get on the tape line, which the engineers had 
put out early in the evening. It had been raining nearly all night, 
and there was considerable fog. Finally we started for the front 
line. Our company was the last; the Twenty-seventh Division was 
on the extreme left, and an Australian division on our right. We 
had Australian artillery to cover our two divisions. This armament 
consisted of 1,175 cannon of all calibers. Ours and the Twenty- 
seventh Divisions covered a front of fifteen miles. Each division 
was expected to take 4,000 square yards in depth, with Bellicourt as 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 497 

our objective. There were five big trenches to break through, each 
with its barbed wire entanglements, and we were slated to reach our 
objective in six hours. 

The Hindenburg line had before been attacked five times by the 
British, and once Idv the Australians, and had withstood all attempts 
to break through. Our orders were that it must be taken, if at 
a cost of all our men. We lay flat on the ground at the tape, waiting 
the "zero hour." The men were placed five paces apart, except that 
the Lewis gunners and leaders were grouped together. We had not 
been in position more than a few seconds when the artillery opened 
fire, and our barrage was on. For a moment it seemed that the earth 
itself had exploded. All one could see was fire, spitting and flaming 
into the fog, shells bursting everywhere, dirt and debris flying, and 
great clouds of smoke all about us. To appearance the fog made 
matters worse, but in reality this was our salvation. For the density 
of the fog made it impossible for the enemy to perceive our move- 
ments. We got on the tape without being seen. The Germans had 
been throwing over a few gas shells previous to our attack; sneezing 
gas, mostly. 

When our barrage started we received orders to rise. Our first 
wave was ordered forward, and when they had gone about 100 feet 
the second wave followed. We were to keep on going until the object- 
ive was reached. Our artillery kept up a "creeping barrage," lift- 
ing and advancing about as fast as a man could walk. Some of the 
boys were too anxious, moved too fast, and were killed by our own 
barrage. This was to be kept up for the entire six hours of our in- 
tended progress, dropping shells about every ten feet. A smoke 
screen was also put up, so dense that one could not see the man 
ahead. We had to hold to each other's coats that we might keep to- 
gether. When the second wave had gone forward its hundred feet, 
we of the third and last wave moved ahead. I was with this, the 
"mopping up" battalion. Our orders were to clean up all the trench- 
es and dugouts. Meanwhile the first and second waves were to keep 
up with the barrage, and were only to check what resistance the Ger- 
mans might put up. The intensity of the artillery fire was such that 
the enemy could not come out into the open to fight the advancing 
waves. Thus until the barrage had lifted and passed beyond their 
trenches the Boches could not do much against the first two waves 
of our troops. While our third wave was advancing the Germans 
put over a barrage on us. But they were shooting high, and so far 
we were not in any great danger, as the enemy purpose was to pre- 
vent reenforcements from coming up. We had an Australian divis- 
ion in the rear to back us up. And as we reached our objective they 
were to move forward. 



498 HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA VISTA COUNTY 

When the third wave had nearly reached the enemy's first Hne 
trenches the German machine gunners had crawled out of their pill- 
boxes and dugouts, and opened a heavy fire upon us. The smoke had 
by that time thinned materially. When within about 300 yards of 
the German first line trenches our corporal ordered our squad into a 
shell hole, where we could prepare for action. Our efifort Avas to lo- 
cate the enemy's machine guns. This was very difficult, so cleverly 
were they camouflaged and concealed. Li the meantime our mount- 
ed machine gun company, in our front trenches, was pouring over a 
barrage of machine gim bullets, shooting at such high elevation that 
we were below their line of fire, while there was a veritable rain of 
lead in the German trenches. There was a constant humming over 
our heads as we lay in the shell hole. 

Nor were the aeroplanes idle. Wherever one looked the planes 
were to be seen, following us at a certain distance. They could not 
come close because of the shell fire; nor could they stay back too far 
for fear of getting in the path of our own artillery fire. By some 
error we became separated from the Twenty-seventh Division, and 
when we reached the enemy first line trenches we had thus left a large 
gap or wedge between the two. This was caused by density of fog. 
Officers and men were separated from their companies. In conse- 
quence of thus losing touch'on the left, the machine guns and snipers 
were able to attack us from the rear. Bullets were coming at us 
from all directions. There was but one thing to do — to lie low in 
the shell holes until the artillery slackened somewhat. The Germans 
threw over some gas, but few of these shells fell in our vicinity. 

Two of our squads were in the gap. Our captain was in the same 
shell hole with myself and others. Tiring of being made the target 
of the enemy machine guns, he ordered us to move forward, in an en- 
deavor to locate and clean out the nest. Meanwhile the rest of the 
company was advancing, mopping up the trenches and marching out 
prisoners in groups. The Germans were coming out of their shelters 
crying, "Kamerad." But the machine guns were still playing upon 
us. I had noticed a spot where the barbed-wire entanglements 
seemed thicker, and believed the guns were there. So we started in 
that direction, crawling from one hole to another. We managed to 
make about two rods distance and fire our Lewis guns at this point to 
make them keep their heads down while our other squad would take 
advantage of our fire; meanwhile progressing until we were within 
100 feet of them, with the Australian division advancing in combat 
groups. The six hours in which we were expected to reach our ob- 
jective had expired, but we were not there because of the heavy re- 
sistance encountered. Under protection of our first and second 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 499 

waves which were about a mile ahead of us we tried to take this ma- 
chine gun nest. Our two squads, assisted by two Australian squads, 
flanked, .crept up closer, and finally, while standing up trying to get 
the range between I saw two German machine gunners stand up in 
plain view. My "buddie" could not see them as plainly as I because 
of obstructions of barbed wire and old trunks of trees. I was just 
ready to duck when a bullet hitting my helmet sent it to the ground 
like a top. F'or a minute I could not realize what had happened. The 
bullet went through my helmet, right over my left ear, cutting ofl^ 
some of my curly hair and leaving a black streak over my ear, though 
it did not hurt me whatever. I fixed up the helmet by tying the band 
together .so I could keep it on my head. 

Just then the Germans began throwing^ hand grenades at the shell 
hole we were in. About twenty-five grenades missed us a rod, but 
a lad lying in a shell hole ahead of us did not fare so well. He soon 
came crawling back to where we were and begged me to take his leg- 
ging off and bandage his leg above the wound, but I advised him to 
make for the rear. During this time one aeroplane which came to 
our aid located the machine gun post. Assisted by the aeroplane 
charge on the enemy we began to make it interesting for them by the 
use of hand grenades. Just as I started forward again to get a little 
closer to their position I was hit again by a sniper, right above the 
hip on the right side. Here again I was spared from injury by a 
small bag hanging on that side which contained extra parts for our 
machine gun. The enemy's bullet lodged in these parts. We all 
started throwing hand grenades then; we could do nothing with our 
machine guns then because the enemy were concealed in their pits. 
Just as I sighted several German helmets rise into the air the Austra- 
lian squad threw a smoke bomb and the game was up. Fourteen 
Germans came crawling over the parapet with hands up, calling for 
mercy and yelling "Kamerad." Some of them had watches and 
rings in their hands; they were Prussian Guards, well dressed, large, 
husky fellows — one a sergeant-major, and thirteen privates. One 
Australian took the sergeant-major, while one American took charge 
of all the privates and marched them back to our division headquar- 
ters. By this time our boys were marching prisoners back to battal- 
ion headquarters by the hundreds. During our little skirmish, we 
lost two men — -both killed outright — and I had two narrow escapes 
myself. Going forward to join our company we reached the enemy's 
third-line trench to find forty more Americans who had become sep- 
arated from their companies. We were puzzled to know what to do, 
because the enemy was still kicking up a lively fire; it seemed like 
they had machine gun nests all over, when we would get one silenced 



500 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

others would pop up. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon we took time 
to eat while awaiting orders which directed us to advance to the 
German's last-line trench and stand guard there until further orders 
were received. We mounted our guns and prepared for a counter- 
attack. Australians were then coming up in large numbers. Our 
boys in the front line were having a hard time at Bellicourt, our ob- 
jective, where they were meeting a stiff resistance. Aeroplanes fly- 
ing over our lines dropped signals to get together as the Australians 
were to make an attack in the morning, so they were advised not to 
advance any further or our barrage would get them. When it be- 
gan to rain about 10 o'clock in the evening I was standing guard in 
the trench and was soaked to the skin. About 11 o'clock the Aus- 
tralians brought us somehing to eat from their rations, although we 
had rations of our own for forty-eight hours, but no water. It was 
surely a miserable night. As day started to break an Australian 
officer gave orders to prepare for action. The Germans were mak- 
ing a counter-attack on our front line, which was checked; at 6 
o'clock they made another attack but were checked again and at 8 130 
made another attack, more severe than either of the former efforts. 
Thev put a barrage of shell fire on the trenches we were holding, 
which we had taken from them the day before. Because they knew 
the range on these trenches they were able to drop their shells very 
close, destroying the trenches here and there. Fears that they had 
broken through our front-line trenches were dispelled by orders to 
hold and to keep every man by his gun and ready for action. But we 
were surely tired. Having been fighting all the day before, and with 
no sleep, it was beginning to tell on us. At 9 o'clock my "buddie" 
was killed right by his gun, by a big shell which exploded about 
three rods ahead of him, a piece of shrapnel hitting him in the heart. 
I was coming from a dugout with some ammunition, when I saw him 
reel, fall on his back, and heard him exclaim, "Harry, I'm hit." By 
the time I reached his side he was dead. That broke my heart — 
there was my pal dead — we had been the best of friends since we 
came into the army. He was a splendid lad, always jolly and witty. 
Just as I took his pocket piece an Australian officer came along to 
take his name and identification number, and with him came a guide 
to take us to our company. Though the counter-attack had been 
stopped for a third time we had lost many men in our trench, including 
Americans and Australians. Though we were ready to return to 
our company at i o'clock shells were still dropping aroimd us and it 
was deemed best to remain in the trenches, where we could clean up 
our guns and try to get a little rest. These trenches would hold 
fifty to a hundred men, were thirty-fi\'e to forty feet deep, well built, 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 501 

made of concrete, timbers, and sheet iron; some even furnished with 
chairs, table and hanging lamps which the Germans had taken from 
French homes as they advanced. Only four of our squad were left; 
the other four were either killed or lost. Right in front of one of 
these dugouts I was holding my machine gun and sat down to ask 
one of the boys what outfit he was from. But he did not answer. 
Just then a high explosive shell flew past my head and struck directly 
in front of the dugout. I could not realize what had happened. I 
was thrown down on my back, my whole body stinging with pain ; 
blood was running down my face, and from my arm ; a large piece of 
shrapnel was burning my left thigh, paining my knee and foot. My 
arm felt as if it was paralyzed, as though it was severed. I threw 
from me the piece of shrapnel that was burning my thigh. My pal's 
watch, with its crystal broken, had saved me from an ugly wound in 
another spot. Men, coming out of the dugout, yelling and screaming 
with pain, with blood running down their faces, were surely a hor- 
rible sight. I was lying helpless when Red Cross stretcher-bearers 
came to my aid. They gave me first-aid dressings, meanwhile try- 
ing to cheer me up. These men played their part well in this war. 
At the first aid station in the trench I had to wait about fifteen min- 
utes for attention, and when the doctor came he gave me a shot of 
antitoxin to prevent lockjaw. After my wounds were dressed and I 
had been examined carefully I was carried back two miles to ambu- 
lances which took me to the casualty clearing station. It was full 
of wounded and more were coming in rapidly. I reached there at 
4:30 in the afternoon, and at 7 was stripped of all my wet and muddy 
clothing, taken to the operating room, put under an anesthetic, and 
after being given attention was taken to a ward full of wounded sol- 
diers and wounded German prisoners. Though my arm was in a 
splint I did not have any pain to speak of the next morning, October 
I St. All that day and night, indeed until 4 p.m. of October 2d, we 
rode on a splendid hospital train to Trouville, France. There the 
Red Cross was right on the job looking out for us wounded lads, serv- 
ing hot cofifee and cakes, smokes and chocolates. Ambulances driv- 
en by Red Cross girls took us to a British hospital, where we were 
given attendance by a British doctor who was a major. An X-ray 
of my arm disclosed a severe compound fracture. On the morning 
of the 6th when I woke up I had blood poisoning in my arm; it was 
black and blue. I was almost certain then I would lose it. When 
I was hit in the trenches it seemed that something told me I would 
lose that arm; yet I was certain at the time that I was not going to 
die. When the nurse came to dress my arm, and she shook her head 
in a disconsolate way, I knew then that I had guessed right. The 



502 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

major then came ; he sat down upon the bed and broke the news to me. 
He said amputation was necessary at once to save my Hfe ; that even if 
the arm could be saved it would be useless to me as the elbow was 
badly fractured, and all the nerves were severed, and the arm was 
almost severed. It was discouraging, but life is sweet at the last mo- 
ment. The operation was performed that afternoon. Throughout 
my period of convalescence I received faithful attention, both from 
the doctor and the nurses. The Red Cross and Salvation Army visi- 
ted me every day, leaving sweets or fruit or something tempting to 
eat. After remaining here until the 20th of October I was transfer- 
red to England. 

Taken Prisoner Beyond the Hindenburg Line 

Written by Lars Hansen of Company H, One Hundred Nineteenth 
Infantry, Thirtieth Division. 

On the morning of September 29th we went over the top at 5:50 
o'clock in the attack on the Hindenburg line, in what is known as the 
Somme offensive; we of Company H were in the first wave. When 
we started going toward the German line it was so dark on account 
of the fog that we could hardly see anything. As we got very near 
to the first German trench we were met by German machine gun fire 
and found it necessary to get down into shell holes. In the course 
of ten minutes we managed to kill most of the Germans in the trench 
by our machine guns and hand grenades, ^^^^en we got into the 
trench we found but two left alive, whom we made prisoners. Pass- 
ing over this trench and to the next, which was a very deep 
trench, the one known as the Hindenburg line, we found a great 
many German dead, killed by our barrage, and our men took a num- 
ber of prisoners from dugouts. We crossed this main trench and 
continued forward until we neared the next German trench. Here 
we were held for a short while on account of terrific German artil- 
lery and machine gun fire near what was the German railhead and 
a point which the enemy disliked to have us gain. As we approach- 
ed two Australian tanks we found one ready to go back and the other 
forward. The one that was ready for the advance went forward 
with our outfit for nearly half an hour, when it was hit by a German 
shell. One man came out of the tank. I did not find out what might 
have happened to anyone else who might have been in it. 

When we reached the third trench up on a hill and found no Ger- 
mans there we stopped for about a half hour to rest. Then, under 
orders of our lieutenant, we went forward to capture what he 
thought was a machine gun nest about a half a mile ahead of us. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 503 

There were about thirty of us, some from other outfits, the confu- 
sion having occurred because the smoke and fog had been so dense 
that it was impossible for men to stay together in their own outfits. 
As we neared our objective we discovered that it was a German 
trench filled with machine guns. Whereupon we dropped into shell 
holes. A comrade and myself were together in one about a hundred 
yards in front of the German trench. And it was a very small shell 
hole, hardly large enough for two. Our packs showed above the 
surface and the sniping enemy kept shooting at them. One got too 
far down and hit me in the shoulder. About five minutes later a 
piece of shrapnel from a shell which lit close got me in the hip. Our 
small crowd was at too close range to venture out, and too far from 
our own bunch to get help. With all our ammunition used up we lay 
there for about two hours — then a dozen German soldiers came out 
and ordered nine of us, five of whom were wounded, out of the shell 
hole and into their trench. They took us back of their lines, march- 
ing us all afternoon and half of the night, and put us in a cellar so 
full of water that we could not lie down. At 10 o'clock the next 
morning they took me to a hospital where they washed my wounds 
with warm water and put on paper bandages. I was permitted to 
leave the hospital at 2 o'clock ; then they put us in a wagon and drove 
until evening, when we were put in another hospital for two days. 
Here we were provided with fairly good meals. Then we were put 
on a train and traveled for three days. The only meals we had were 
each evening when the train was stopped and we were given 
vegetable stew and a small piece of bread. Meanwhile our wounds 
were not dressed. We finally reached the German prison camps 
where were all kinds of prisoners, though it was our fortune to be the 
first Americans. \Yc were taken to the barracks and the British 
prisoners dressed our woimds. Our daily rations were usually tur- 
nips three times a day, coffee made of barley once a day, and a little 
black bread. We were thankful tb receive a little food from the Brit- 
ish Help Committee, and after a month we received a little package 
from the American Red Cross each week, and after that we did not 
receive a bit of the German stuff. These Red Cross packages con- 
sisted of about fifteen cans of meats, fish and vegetables, with thir- 
teen pieces of hardtack. We also were provided with army clothing 
forwarded through the American Red Cross. Our Red Cross pack- 
ages contained twice as much as those furnished the other prisoners 
by their home countries. 

We learned about 5 p.m. on the nth of November that the armis- 
tice was signed. You may be sure there was rejoicing- among the 
bunch of us. Thousands of prisoners were here, some of whom had 
been captured after the opening of the war. The Germans started 



504 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

moving us to France soon after the armistice was signed, and it was 
about a week afterwards that they took me to Metz by train. 

America's Greatest Battle 

Frederick Pahiier in Collier's Weekly, tells the following story of 
the Meuse-Argonne struggle: 

It is the Argonne battle which will be oftenest on the lips of the re- 
turned soldiers of our combat divisions. There is not a township in 
the United States which did not have a son in the battle; in all, first 
and last, there were 650,000 Americans engaged. Every state was 
represented by some home division, or a part of some division, whose 
gallantry will be a heroic tradition in the state's annals. 

Perhaps in fifty, perhaps in a hundred years some historian will 
write an adequate account of this battle which, it goes without say- 
ing, was the greatest we have ever fought; but some of us, who will 
not be able to tarry long enough on earth to wait for that 
masterpiece, may want such an account as I am writing in these three 
articles. Thus far we have read the vivid newspaper dispatches, 
such brilliant descriptive articles as ]\Ir. Ruhl's, and narratives of the 
exploits of individuals, platoons, and battalions which could be 
gathered in the course of action. 

All the visible part of the battle was familiar to me from personal 
observation at the same time that I was in touch with the dififerent 
headquarters where our forces were directed, but all that any one pair 
of eyes might see of the battle was no more than a fly on a chariot 
wheel might see of Armageddon. Later I read the divisional reports 
written after the battle was over. I went over all the fields, map in 
hand, and studied and thought over the Argonne battle, and I write 
at a time when there is no need of secrecy except as it affects inter- 
Allied relations at the Peace Conference, and when I am in possess- 
ion of certain information which was not hitherto accessible. 

The more I studied the Argonne the mightier it grew in its impor- 
tance in ending the war, in the complexity of its tactics, in the sub- 
lime human endurance and will exhibited, and thus it will grow as 
history brings it into perspective. It was an all- American battle; 
the battle that tested our people's character all the way from the gassed 
woods and bullet-swept ravines to the homes of the L'nited States 
where our sons are bred. 

If we had not won the Argonne battle in the fall of '18 we should 
have won it in the spring or summer of '19, for this battle was to go 
on until we did win a decision. Such was the part set for the Ameri- 
can army, in keeping with the plan which was made soon after Gen- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 505 

eral Pershing's arrival in France, that the American zone should be 
on the right of the long line from Switzerland to the North Sea. 

There were to be three great Allied armies in France : The Brit- 
ish on the left, with the channel ports at their back; the French in 
the center, with the heart of their France at their back and 
the Americans on the right. When the American army was ready 
the three armies were to strike and keep on striking — the vigorous 
young American army, with its reserves of man and resources, to lead 
in the final continued offensive on the right flank against Metz and 
toward the Rhine. The time of the execution was a matter of judg- 
ment, and the method one of tactics, but the plan which won the war 
was never changed in its broad lines from its conception when the 
United States had not as yet a full division in France. As Grant 
stuck to his idea of "hammering it out on this line," so General 
Pershing stuck to his through trials and irritations which would have 
broken the spirit and health of average leaders, and rent their nerves 
to tatters. He is the kind of general who makes up his mind where 
he is going, and then goes. He may have to tack to weather storms, 
or get a better wind, but never takes his eyes off the compass. 

The first of the offensives in the plan, as already decided in July, 
1917, was to be an operation against the Saint-Mihiel salient, which 
was to cover Metz. We were diverted temporarily from its consid- 
eration by the German offensives of 191 8, which scattered our forces 
to assist in the defense of Paris and then to assist in the reduction of 
the Marne salient. While some of our divisions were still engaged 
in that salient we began preparations for Saint-Mihiel. Our attack 
there was to conclude our summer campaign. With its experience 
as a guide, while our output of guns, machine guns, tanks, airplanes, 
and all supplies at home were beginning to arrive in quantity, we 
were to spend the winter training and forming our army for the 
spring offensive. French guns and aviation and six French divis- 
ions were to assist us at Saint-Mihiel. The original objective was a 
drive through to Gorze, Mars-la-Tour, and Etain, and possibly to 
Metz itself. 

A celebrated British general had said that our new army \vt)uld go 
to massacre against the strong positions of Saint-Mihiel. Other ex- 
perts had made equally dire prophecies. As a new army against 
fortifications which had been for four years unbroken we expected 
a severe trial. 

A few days before we attacked at Saint-Mihiel Marshal Foch and 
General Pershing had a conference which changed our plans. The 
Allied counter-oft'ensive now had been developing rapidly. The suc- 
cess of the Somme offensive, begun on August 8, had thrilled us all 



5o6 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

with high expectations. The Germans were being pressed back 
from their positions in Flanders and northern France. Information 
indicated that possibly Ludendorff was making a rear-guard action 
with the intention of falling back on the line of the Meuse. If the Ger- 
mans were going, the thing was to press our advantage. 

FROM THE MEUSE TO THE ARGONNE 

I can imagine a congressional committee, or any board of academic 
military experts which heard the result of the decision of General 
Pershing's conference with Marshal Foch, telling General Pershine 
that he must not consent to any such plan, and exclaiming: "This 
is murder. We will not have Marshal Foch use our army as cannon 
fodder." Thus far the old front line had not been broken in the Allied 
counter-offensive at any point from east of Rheims to the sea. We 
were about to break this section for the first time at Saint-Mihiel. 
Marshal Foch now proposed to extend his operation in an audacious 
bid for immediate victory. 

When we were in the very fever of preparing for the Saint-Mihiel 
operation, uncertain as to the result and the extent of casualties 
that it would entail, we were suddenly set to work preparing to fight 
in the fall of 1918, in the offensive which we had planned for 1919 
and for which we expected to prepare on the basis of our army's first 
experience with time enough to organize all the material due to reach 
us in the next four months. We were to throw all the strength we 
could muster in one fell blow against the old front line from the 
Meuse River to the Argonne. If that attack did not succeed. General 
Pershing might, according to the precedents of military history, as 
surely expect to be relieved of his command as Falkenhayn was after 
Verdun. He would have had the glory of a Pickett who sent, not a 
division, but more than half a million men in an effort to break a bat- 
tle line, or the position of Grant if Grant's Appomatox campaign had 
failed. 

The Army of the Potomac had been completely ready when it struck. 
It had more guns than it could use. It was on its own soil, with 
ample reserves. We were on foreign soil, lacking guns and material 
of all kinds, and dependent upon ocean transport. 

Our troops were to be ready for this new attack on the morning of 
September 25, as a part of the plan which included attack in Flanders 
by the British, French, and Belgians, and by the British against the 
Hindenburg line, the hope being that the numerous thrusts over such 
a long front would so disorganize the German army and exhaust its 
reserves that it would not be able to maintain its organization. The 
logistics of the preparations for the extension of the offensive to the 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 507 

eastward were more difficult and stupendous than the AlHes had ever 
undertaken. The Fourth French Army, which was to attack on our 
left at the same time that we attacked from the Meuse to the Ar- 
gonne, was already in line, and the necessary reserves for its advance 
were for the most part close at hand. 

THE DIFFICULTIES OF MOBILIZATION 

We had thirteen days from Saint-Mihiel "D" day (the day of at- 
tack) to the Arg'onne "D" day in which to move all our troops and 
all they required, to bring up our heavy guns, prepare our ammuni- 
tion dumps and depots, assemble our transport, and school our divis- 
ions in their task. The British new army had taken five months in 
preparing for the Somme in 1916. Its divisions which had engaged 
had all had battle experience. It built roads and light railways and 
communication and assembly trenches, and assembled enormous 
amounts of material. These elaljorate arrangements gave the ene- 
my a warning which afforded him plenty of time to prepare for the 
attack. They were now out of date ; we were in a new era. All the 
armies were now depending on swift preparation and sudden attack. 
As nothing is so easily identified by an airplane as a new road, if we 
began the construction of a single one in the Argonne it was serving 
notice of our concentration and our purpose. Therefore we had to 
use the roads that existed, and there were only two leading up to 
that sixteen-mile front for all our troops, our guns, ammunition, and 
other supplies. 

We had none of the older veteran divisions to spare for this first 
shock of the attack which was to break the fortified line. All were 
in the Saint-Mihiel operation, and when they came out they would be 
exhausted and require rest. So we stimmoned divisions from quiet 
trench sectors, from the training grounds in France — divisions 
hardly yet acclimatized and with their training yet incomplete. Two 
of these had never been under fire before. The Allied instructors 
had directed their training at home along the lines of stationary war- 
fare, without foreseeing the open tactics which were necessary if we 
were to maintain our progress once we had broken through the forti- 
fications. 

Some of our divisions were without artillery, while Allied divisions 
had had team play with their artillery vinits for four years, and nearly 
all our divisions were short in some sort of equipment. Artillery 
brigades received their guns one day and were off to the front the 
next. The 77th and 28th Divisions were the only available divisions 
that had fought serious engagements as divisions. They had just 
finished their grilling advance from the Vesle to the Aisne. They 
needed replacements; they were short of transportation and animals, 



5o8 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

and they had to come by forced marches from the region of Chateau- 
Thierry at a time when they should have been in comfortable billets 
recuperating. 

Short of transportation and animals! How familiar that phrase 
sounds in recollections! Horses were coming from home, but they 
would be too late. Browning machine guns, heavy artillery, and 
tanks and tractors were coming from home, but they also would be 
too late, unless we did not win the Battle of the Meuse-Argonne. 
France had been drained of horses as well as of all other kinds of 
material for this driving offensive campaign which wore down men, 
horses, and all equipment. The variety of traffic that must be put 
on the limited roads toward the Argonne was due to insufficient rail- 
way lines as well as rolling stock. All the movement must be at 
night, without lights, to avoid detection. Units withdrawn from the 
Saint-Mihiel had to cross the streams of traffic running to the Saint- 
Mihiel front. Tractor-drawn heavy material, which could go only 
three or four or five miles an hour, limited the speed of motor trans- 
port that could go twenty in the solid columns which occupied the 
roads. Weary horses could not be forced through according to the 
visual schedule for transport. Other units were delayed by having 
horses killed in withdrawing them from the Saint-Mihiel front. 

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS LEEWAY 

These were some of the difficulties of mobilization, and without an 
understanding of the difficulties, which were hardly played up at the 
time for the encouragement of the Germans, any picture of the Ar- 
gonne battle may be impressionistically appealing, but it will be most 
unreal to "those present." Nevertheless we achieved the miracle. 
On the night of the 24th we were in position. Our different corps 
headquarters had had only four days on the ground to familiarize 
themselves with the situation. Our divisional commands had even 
less. Corps commanders like to know their divisions through battle 
action, which was not the case this time and could not have been the 
case when some divisions had had no battle action. Division com- 
manders like to know their ground by thorough personal observa- 
tion. They want to know their commanders through the experience 
of battle rather than reputation gained on the drill grounds, and they 
want their artillery to be acquainted with their divisions. The artil- 
lery brigades of some divisions had been attached to the divisions 
for the first time in the last twenty-four hours. Artillery units which 
had horses used their horses to bring up the guns of units which had 
none. The French had been generous in assisting us in the enor- 
mous concentration of guns which was to .destroy the barbed wire, 
and generous in assisting us with aviation which gave us more planes 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY ' 509 

for the attack of September 26 than had ever been assembled for any 
engagement. But our aviation, including the French, was new. The 
pilots of combat planes might force the combat, winning acclaim as 
aces, but the observation planes and the new units of artillery and 
infantry, however well grounded in theory, nuist lack the skill in 
tactical co-ordination, more important than the glory of aces, which 
is developed only by experience. 

Our men were exhausted by their hard marching and their ardu- 
ous labor, and our officers by the pressure of their responsibilities and 
their apprehension in trying to have all details ready. Marshal Foch 
postponed the attack from the 25th to the 26th, the understanding be- 
ing that the French Fourth Army was not yet ready. Possibly, 
however, the marshal had in mind that we would not be on time, and 
he would give us twenty-four hours' leeway to gather up any broken 
ends of preparation. These twenty-four hours were valuable to our 
engineers, who, occupied in the Saint-Mihiel operation, could not 
arrive until the day before the attack. They ought to have been in 
the Argonne as soon as our troops began to move, but we had not 
enough engineers to look after two great battles at once. 

Now, let us consider the ground where we were to operate, the line 
of defenses which we were to overcome, and the plan of the battle. 
From the plain of the Woevre before Metz stretches an area of com- 
manding hills and irregular ground to the Argonne Forest, which 
there drops into the rolling country of Champagne. This includes 
to the east the heights which we had to conquer in the Saint-Mihiel 
salient, and north and west of them the forts of Verdun. The Meuse 
River runs through the town of Saint-Mihiel, which is at the point 
of the Saint-Mihiel salient, and through the town of Verdun, and 
then northward through the Verdun battlefield, where the famous 
Dead Man's Hill, or Le Mort Homme, is across the river from the 
forts ; and then the Meuse winds in a westerly direction through 
Sedan. 

The Argonne Forest, a dense wood situated upon an irregular 
ridge, is the bastion of this area of strong natural defenses, where 
the republican forces of France once stopped the Duke of Brunswick. 
In the German advance of 1914, the Crown Prince's armies swept 
over this region, mastering the forest and reached Saint-Mihiel, south 
of Verdun, as Joffre rallied his forces for his counter-stroke on the 
Marne. In their retreat from the Marne the Germans stood on the 
southern edge of the forest and established their line on chosen posi- 
tions, with the commanding heights in the rear as a support from the 
forest to the Meuse. 

In 1916 the Crown Prince's armies fought the battle of Verdun 
.for the forts and heights protecting Verdun, whose possession with 



5IO HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

that of the forest and the Hne to the Meuse, in the German hopes, 
would open the way to the plains of the Marne again and to a decision. 

DEFENSIVE ADVANTAGES 

No sector in the old German lines was considered more redouhtable 
than the Meuse-Argonne sector. It was as essential to the integ- 
rity of the German front, from Flanders to Switzerland, as the hills 
of Verdun to the French; for it protected the Germans' lines of com- 
munication to all their armies in Belgium and northern France. Had 
a strategist from Mars been shown a map from the Rhine to the At- 
lantic, without contours and with the railway systems outlined, he 
would have instantly said that. the Allied stroke should be on the 
Meuse-Argonne line toward the German railway communication 
through Mezieres; but, if the hills from the Argonne to the Woevre 
had been raised in relief on the map he would have changed his mind. 

Though the inviting point of attack was in the Meuse-Argonne, all 
the Allied offensives on the western front had been west of the Ar- 
gonne, on the plains of Champagne, in Artois, and on the Somme and 
in Flanders, where alone attacks against frontal positions seemed to 
have any chance of success. It may be mentioned, too, that there 
had never been any question that the German line from Switzerland 
to the sea could be broken with sufficient men and material to allow 
of great offensives at many points, including one in the Meuse-Ar- 
gonne, which should come at the decisive moment when the Germans 
could not spare enough reserves to prevent a break. For hard blows 
swiftly struck at alternating points, confusing the enemy in his po- 
sitions, had always been the obvious plan for victory. It was for 
Marshal Foch to apply the plan with his brilliant and daring tactics 
when he had the American army at his disposal. 

The German trench system in the Argonne was as elaborate as in 
any part of the old German line. It embodied all the experience of 
four years of stationary warfare. The Hindenburg Line was not 
stronger than the Meuse-Argonne, while, once the Hindenburg Line 
was broken, the country beyond was much more favorable for rapid 
advance in open warfare than back of the Meuse-Argonne line, where 
the commanding hills, many wooded or with wooded slopes, rose in 
a kind of whaleback to a depth of some ten miles. 

Any attack against a frontal line was always in danger of forming 
a salient which would be under pressure on either side — and the de- 
fensive force had the advantage of the recoil of its forces in defense 
upon its material and reserves and prepared roads while the offen- 
sive force was extending its communications and bringing up its ma- 
terial and men over ground accurately plotted for the enemy's 
gunners. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 511 

Thus the Allied ofifensives from Neuve Chapelle to Passchendaele, 
as well as the German offensives, had failed. In all the early offen- 
sives the elaborate preparations of roads and engineering material 
and the immense number of reserve labor troops, had been for the 
purpose of continuing the communications over the conquered area. 
Our engineers, having arrived thirty-six hours before the attack, 
were very short of material. This was not their fault, or anybody's 
fault; it was merely the fault of a desire to win the war in the fall 
of 1918. 

A NATIONAL ARMY AND NATIONAL GUARD AFFAIR 

Our right flank was on the Meuse, which would protect us from 
any infantrv advances across the river, but not from shell fire. There 
we had Bullard's Third Corps, with Bell's 33d Division of the Illinois 
National Guard on the bank, and Cronkhite's National Army "Blue 
Ridge" Division, and Hersey's 4th Division of regulars, adjoining, 
in order. 

On our left flank Liggett's First Corps, in touch with the French 
Fourth Army, which had elements of the g2d (colored) Division on 
its right, rested in the Argonne Forest. Alexander's 77th National 
Army Division faced the forest, whose eastern side breaks out in 
wooded escarpments overlooking the small river Aire, which winds 
among the hills. Muir's 28th National Guard or "Keystone Divis- 
ion," was to move up the west bank of the river, whose valley was 
literally a trough between commanding heights. 

Traub's 35th Division, Missouri and Kansas National Guard, was 
expected to conquer the western wall of the Aire. As any continued 
frontal advance in the forest was out of the question — the Fourth 
French Army was to exert supporting pressure to "scallop" by a 
forward movement on the western side of the Argonne, and the 28th 
was to perform the same service on the eastern edge. 

In the center was Cameron's Fifth Corps with Kuhn's 79th Divis- 
ion from Camp Meade on the right; Johnston's 91st National Army 
from the Pacific Northwest, and Farnsworth's 38th National Guard 
from Ohio, in order from right to left. The Fifth Corps divisions 
were full and the troops were fresh. The 91st and 37th had served 
in quiet sectors, while the 79th had not even had that experience; but 
the Fifth Corps had less difficult ground on its immediate front than 
the two flanks. The order of arrangement of the divisions was not 
so much a matter of choice, but of necessity in arranging the "march 
tables" in order that all divisions might be up on time. Everything de- 
pended upon speed in all the preparations. 

Only one of these divisions, then, was regulai", and the attack was 
a National Army and National Guard affair. Aside from the 28th 



512 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

and 77th, the 33d had had some battle experience. The officers of the 
others knew Httle in practice of the technique of how to keep their 
men in formation throng-h the barbed wire and across the sea of shell 
craters, and in face of bursts of machine-g'un fire and sudden concen- 
trations of gas and other shell fire, and of the methods of overcoming 
machine-gun nests. 

One wished for the addition of one or two of the veteran divisions, 
such as the ist, 2d. 3d, or the 26th, or 42d, which had been through 
the hell which was the only schooling for real battle efficiency in the 
ghastly business of war. It had assisted the French in breaking the 
old line northwest of Soissons. 

BUZANCY AND THAT WHALEBACK 

One wished for the older hands all the more in view of the plan of 
attack, which required extremely difficult maneuvering. It was to 
be in the form of a bulging thrust from the center, and our ultimate 
objective may be best denoted on the map as the town of Buzancy. 
When we had Buzancy, the whaleback was ours. All its heights, its 
tricky slopes, its ravines and plots of forbidding woodlands, would 
be at our backs. We should look down on the sloping ground to- 
ward the Meuse from Stenay to Sedan, prepared to strike that four- 
track railway system, which was the lateral line of German communi- 
cations. The Fourth French Army was nearest to the pivot of the 
attack, and we were to make the great swing. Marshal Foch having 
called our reserves of fresh man power to the supreme gamble. It 
was a wonderful and intoxicating" strategic conception which one saw 
on the map, with the curves of corps and army lines which formed 
our ambitious objectives. 

"We'll do it!'' every one said. No one would allow the tongue to 
utter any other- thought. An army must not go into action with any 
one spreading skepticism. What one was thinking in the back of 
his head was another matter. There had been other great concep- 
tions: Neuve Chapelle, Champagne, and Loos in 191 5, the Somme 
in 1916, and the Allied offensives of March, 191 7, and Arras and 
Passchendaele and Cambrai. In all the start had been made with 
the same steel-tempered determination. A skeptic might think, 
too, that thus far the Allies in their counter-offensive had for the 
most part fought over the open ground which the Germans had taken 
in their offensives. At most points, indeed, at the time the Meuse- 
Argonne offensive was planned, we had only reached the line from 
Rheims to the sea, where the Germans had started their spring offen- 
sives, while the main portions of the Hindenburg Line were not yet 
taken and Rheims was as yet disengaged. The Germans still had 
forty good battle divisions in reserve. Ludendorft" might yield from 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 513 

Rheims to Flanders, but he could not afford to yield Buzancy while 
he had a single reserve division left. Personally I foresaw another 
Sonime for us, with the attrition of steady months of pounding at 
enormous costs, wearing down the enemy, as the Somme had in this 
war of attrition, which, in the broad sense, was won by attrition. 

Before we took Buzancy we must conquer the Argonne Forest and 
the gap of Gran Pre and much of the great forest of Bourgogne be- 
yond the Argonne, and on our right we must advance up the west 
bank of the Meuse, with sufficient support on the east bank to free its 
heights of masses of artillery which had a free sweep of the west 
bank. Literally, the approaches to the whaleback were commanded 
by a series of heights on both sides. Nature could not have done 
the Germans a much better service than the way she had fashioned 
the ground. 

MAINTAINING UNIFORMITY 

Did the enemy know of the attack? How far was he prepared to 
receive it? In order that no American prisoners should be taken, a 
thin line of French had occupied the frontal trenches to the last mo- 
ment as we massed. But a few days before the attack the Germans 
became restless and began raids for information. There was no 
question that they expected an offensive, but we know now that 
they did not realize its magnitude. It was not within Ludendorft''s 
calculations, apparently, that this new American army of inexperi- 
enced divisions hurriedly rushed to France could master a mobiliza- 
tion requisite to a great thrust elsewhere so soon after Saint-Mihiel. 
The very audacity of our plan and its speed of execution formed one 
of the reasons for its success. 

I shall not describe the tremendous preliminary bombardment, or 
the suspense when the dawn broke, while the guns still thundered 
and the airplanes took wing and the machine guns thrummed in aerial 
combat. It was a spectacle revealing the mighty power America 
had summoned across the seas. Nor shall I dwell on how I chose to 
follow the 79th Camp Meade men in order to see that division which 
had never before been under fire against the machine-gun nests ; for 
along that sixteen-mile line all our men were advancing in the same 
fashion. Everyone has read such descriptions. And I stick to my 
account of the battle as a whole. 

No attack against old-line fortifications had been more completely 
successful. We had everywhere mastered them. Not a single 
strong point had caused the delay which had ruined so many offen- 
sive movements. It is a miracle how the new divisions had accom- 
plished their part ; through barbed-wire which the artillery had often 
failed to cut, over the maze of trenches, and across the shell craters 



514 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

of No Man's Land, whose edges, often joining, were fringed with 
weeds sHppery in the morning mist. The men had to pick their way 
around these shell craters, bearing their full equipment, while the 
earth, spongy from the concussion of shell bursts, yielded under their 
feet. To maintain a uniform line over this wicked ground, in many 
places over a mile in depth, was in itself a triumph, even if there had 
been no resistance. Our men had not been drilled in vain in their 
training camps at home or in France. 

THE ADVANCE ON THE 26TH 

At the end of the first day we had advanced to a depth of five or 
six miles at some points. The colored troops on the j/th's left, in 
their inexperience, had been baffled by the intricacies of a compli- 
cated battle maneuver and were shortly relieved from their trying 
position. The yyth's had had hard fighting at points before they 
were out of the region of defenses in the forest's edge, but by night- 
fall they had gained all their objectives. The 28th had been able to 
do its part by taking the dominating Hill 263 on the flank of the 
forest, while the 35th had taken the neighboring hills 216 and 234 
beyond the village of Very, in a four-mile advance. This was ex- 
excellent start in gaining the heights along the Aire, which were the 
crux of the problem for Liggett's corps. 

On the Meuse flank Bullard's corps had been equally fortunate. 
The. 33d Division had lived up to the promise which it had given on 
the British front of becoming an efficient battle division. In an ad- 
vance, which exhibited both tactical skill and resourceful strategy, it 
had taken the Forges Wood, cleaned up the edge of the Jure Wood, 
and was opposite Consenvoye in the swinging movement toward the 
river, which was a part of a very clever maneuver. 

The 80th Division also gained all of its objectives promptly; but in 
the afternoon the German guns from across the Meuse and machine- 
gun fire from the Septsarges Wood and the En Dela Wood were cut- 
ting into its advance. The 4th Division, which had taken its objec- 
tive by twelve-forty, had to intrench against artillery fire, waiting on 
the Fifth Corps to advance. With minor exceptions only, it can be 
said that the First and Third Corps had accomplished their aims on 
the 26th. 

In the army plan the Fifth Corps had farther to go than the other 
corps in order to make the bulge which was required; and this was 
the one thing, of course, that the Germans meant that we should 
not accomplish as soon as the character of our attack was developed. 
The German staff could read maps quite as well as ours could, and 
its experts knew as well as ours which points were valuable for the 
Germans to hold and for us to gain. Owing to uncut wire the 91st 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 515 

Division made slow progress; but the men from the Pacific North- 
west kept going all day with steady and admirable persistence, and 
night found them on the Very-Montfaucon ridge, with patrols pushed 
forward into Epinonville. The 37th was not only handicapped by 
uncut wire ; it had to pass through Malancourt Wood, where the prac- 
ticed cunning of the German machine gunners made the most of the 
cover of the thickets for their nests. \\'hen its advance was halted 
the 37th sent in more reserves and kept on driving. We expect 
physical vitality and initiative from men from Ohio, and the 37th 
Division showed both on this day. If the division could not gain all 
the distance set on the corps map for the 26th, this was not for 
want of courage. 

In front of the 79th Division the ruins of the village of Montfau- 
con stood out as its goal like those of the Acropolis against the sky 
line. From every approacli to Montfaucon its units were met by en- 
filading machine-gun fire which they could not locate. They had 
come three or four or five miles; they had already done a mighty 
day's work; their artillery could not keep up with their advance. In- 
fantry units were scattered. Commanders who had never operated 
before in battle became confused in maintaining the uniformity of 
the line under conditions which would have baffled the most capable 
of veterans. There was no want of will on anyone's part. Every 
weary man was ready to charge, if only told where and how. \\'lien 
I thought of the true story of the first Bull Run, where fresh troops 
were engaged, and I thought of what the 7gth had done, and had the 
heart to do, I realized how far away from Civil War days we were, 
not only as an army but as a people, in the fact that we could bring 
into action for the first time a draft division capable of the advance 
that it made and of such stoicism under fire. 

The fact was that the Fifth Corps, although it advanced as far as 
the other corps, was not able to take its objective on the 26th. So 
much for our infantry on the first day, when we went further than 
any other day until November i. Now we turn to the problem of 
the paucity of roads, which I have already mentioned. In all history 
armies have been tied to their stomachs, and their stomachs have 
been tied to the roads. Signal wire cars, balloon trucks, the rolling- 
kitchens that are to serve soldiers hot meals at the end of the day, 
all the guns, tractor and horsedrawn, munition wagons and ambu- 
lances, must move up behind the infantry, or it is left hungry, with- 
out food, surgical care, and the support of other arms. 

It was realized from the time that we planned the attack 
that we should have trouble with our transport, as every other army 
had had in its offensive operations. In this as in all other arrange- 
ments everything was subject to the demands of haste. Our divis- 



5i6 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

ional engineers, upon whom we had largely to depend, were as in- 
experienced as the other units of the divisions, for the engineers of 
our older divisions still had their hands full in the Saint-Mihiel 
salient or elsewhere. 

SPEED AND THE ENGINEERS 

Our divisions which had heen in the reduction of the Marne salient 
had moved over roads which had been only slightly damaged in the 
six weeks that the Germans had occupied the salient line. Thus the 
connecting link of No Man's Land after an advance was easily re- 
paired. In the Argonne the roads had been ruptured by shells, leav- 
ing great craters for a mile or more back of the old French line, where 
they were cut by the deep trenches and support trenches. Be3'ond 
that was No Man's Land, where anv road became an indistinguish- 
able part of the weedy landscape. On the other side of No Man's 
Land were the German trenches, and another space of a mile of the 
same land of shelled area as that behind the French line. 

Instantly our infantry was over the top our engineers began work. 
Either they had to bring up material, which helped block the road in 
the rear, or they had to find some on the sj)ot. \A'here heavy gtms 
or motor trucks broke through they piled in more stones, only to 
have them sink. If one vehicle was stalled, all behind it were stalled 
in that column of every kind of vehicle from divisional transport to 
heavy artillery. There was no room for anything but a dispatch 
rider on a motorcycle to pass. The column would be moving again, 
and all would seem to be going well for a few minutes, when another 
great truck would slow oflf into a rut, or artillery-men would put 
their shoulders to the wheels and the engineers would assist them with 
snatch ropes as they brought a gun out of difficulties. All day and 
all night the struggle of transport went on, a struggle in which 
Mother Earth took revenge on man for having made fair fields deso- 
late by four years of shell fire. Even in the Argonne a day was only 
twenty-four hours long, and a man could work only twenty-four hours 
a day. The rest of the time he must sleep. 

BITING IN, MILE BY MILE 

Nevertheless the 79th had its guns up the next day for its prepara- 
tory bombardment of INlontfaucon which enabled it to take the town. 
On succeeding days we continued our attacks, sometimes short of 
ammunition because of the state of the roads, but with no break in 
our persistency. The 77th kept on biting into the Argonne, gather- 
ing in more machine guns that were hidden in the thickets, and on 
October i it made a bound of over a mile. The trough of the Aire 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 517 

Valley was under increasing blasts of shell fire and gas. Will any- 
one with the 28th Division ever forget the Bald Oak Hill and the 
Taille I'Abbaye Hill, those redoubtable heights extending as escarp- 
ments from the forest into the river valley, which they attacked, and 
kept on attacking, while they repulsed' German counter-attacks? 
The 35th Division had made substantial gains on the 28th, but later 
met the same kind of opposition as the 28th Division. It fought 
against wickedly strong and vital positions. Exermont ravine ^will 
be associated with its history as long as the Missouri flows past Kan- 
sas City. There it suffered from the inexperience of platoon comman- 
ders and non-commissioned officers, and all of the men bunching under 
shell fire as any but veterans will. Reports were circulated among 
the men that they were to be relieved, and some wrong orders were 
given by subordinate commanders, with the resultant confusion. The 
amazing thing was that it did not happen earlier. 

On September 27 the 91st Division had made a mile. On the 28th 
it made another mile, with resistance increasing. On the 29th it 
drove beyond the Cierges Wood, but had to intrench in the face of 
fire from Cierges. 

The 79th, now beyond Montfaucon, broke through the Beuge 
Wood, tried for the Ogons Wood in an attack in which all the sup- 
porting tanks were put out, and was obliged to re-form on a line of 
defense. 

In Bullard's corps the 4th Division, driving home its attacks with 
regular precision, had to fight for every yard of ground gained. The 
80th, which had been temporarily taken out and relieved by a brigade 
of the 33d, returned to the fight with fresh vigor, and swung past 
Dannevoux toward the Meuse. All three of the divisions were un- 
der an increasingly wicked shell fire from the heights of the 17th 
German Corps sector across the Meuse. 

Rest and Reassurance 

By October i the first stage of the battle was over. The Germans 
had now connected up their line of defense in the Kreimhilde-Stel- 
limg Line, taking advantage of the high ground and the wooded slopes 
with masterly skill. Every American division was sending in reports 
of prisoners taken from fresh German divisions which had arrived. 
The German gunfire kept increasing in violence. We could not go 
on putting exhausted divisions against fresh German divisions; and 
our handicap in the want of rested and sufficiently trained divisions 
was evident. 

We must regroup our forces before making another vital attack, 
and thus, for the time being, we reduced our density on the front 
owing to the fatigue of our men, without, however, ceasing to hold the 



5i8 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

upper hand over the enemy by offensive tactics. The 79th and the 
37th and the 35th Divisions were withdrawn. They had been given 
hard tasks ; they had suffered from the psychological effect upon them 
of the suspense before the action, and the strain during the action, 
particularly among the inexperienced officers, was bound to be great- 
er than in the older divisions. In some cases they had fought with 
too great density, and in other cases they had failed to put their re- 
serves in at the right moment. Our staff work had not always been 
perfect; no staff work is. Criticism is easy, but if the best possible 
use was to be made of the new divisions it was necessary that they 
have a real rest in the rear, where the gaps could be filled by replace- 
ments, and the results of their recent experience could be applied 
by a period of brief instruction. It was found again and again that 
when a brigade or a regiment had become tired it not only needed 
rest, but the reassurance that comes from a few days in billets and a 
general reorganization. 

HOLDING ON TO THE BATTLE 

We had not committed the German to this battle, and had com- 
mitted ourselves to it. We did not mean to let go of him and he did not 
dare to let go of us. Even to hold him under the threat of breaking 
through was of immense moral value at this time when the British 
had broken the Hindenburg Line and the Fourth French Army, with 
varying success, was engaged beyond the Argonne Forest. On the 
western edge of the Argonne Forest the French were having the 
same experience as our First Corps on the eastern, with certainly no 
better results, veterans though they were. 

It was better, no doubt, that our new divisions should have been 
used for the initial attack, in which their freshness and their vigor 
in the charge might be exerted, and that the older divisions, as they 
became available after Saint-Mihiel, should be used for the more 
complicated work which was now required. The ist and 3d Divis- 
ions were already in army reserve, and the 32d, which had become 
veteran in its brilliant attacks from the Ourcq and which had just 
won greater renown by breaking through the old first-line trenches 
northwest of Soissons as a part of General Mangin's army, came in 
at a time when we were mastering the control of traffic and had our 
roads in condition to take the place of the 35th, 37th, and 79th, in 
the period of steady and bloody hammering that was now, in merci- 
less sacrifice and endurance, to break the spirit of the enemy. 

In Historic Surroundings 
'We soon were in a military atmosphere," writes Stanley B. Espe, 
referring to the arrival of American troops in France, and continues : 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 519 

From Brest we were sent to Camp Shelby, Napoleon's old train- 
ing camp. This consisted of about five acres of ground covered with 
stone barracks, topped with slate shingles, and all showing the marks 
of age. The scaffolds used for execution in those days are still stand- 
ing, all surrounded by a wall of solid masonry ten feet high. 

At the town where Joan of Arc was born we exchanged our Spring- 
field rifles for the English Enfields, and there received gas masks. 
Arriving at Amiens, a large city and railroad center, we found ruins 
everywhere and the city deserted except for soldiers and war workers. 
Amiens Cathedral, still standing, was the target of long range guns. 
In the Verdun sector we located in French dugouts, caught cooties 
and trench rats while waiting for artillery forces numbering 2500 to 
get in place for the offensive which began at 5 a.m. September 26th 
in the Meuse-Argonne. This caught me at Dead Man's Hill and 
ended my military cares by sending me to the hospital. 

Prisoner of War 

Herbert E. Fairchild, a private in Company L, One Hundred Thirty- 
first Infantry, Thirty-third Division, was for two months a prisoner 
of the Germans, and writes as follows: 

It was near Albert that we had our first experience in the battle 
line. On the Fovirth of July our regiment, in conjunction with the 
Australians, was called upon to go over the top. This was the battle 
of Hammel Woods, with the town of Corbie as the objective. Our 
company was in the supporting line and they had a smaller share in 
the fight as the first line gained the objective, taking many prisoners. 
Following this battle we were in a twenty-days' drive near Brie on 
the right of Albert. Here some of the most stubborn fighting of 
the war occurred, as the Germans contested every foot of their re- 
treat. 

We were again called upon to go over the top in what was the first 
drive of the battle which started September 26th. Our company 
took the lead in this drive, which advanced the American forces about 
four miles, or to the river Meuse. This was in the face of the most 
stubborn machine-gun resistance. The Germans would continue fir- 
ing until the Americans were upon them, and then would shout 
"Kamerad." The boys were not always in the mood to accept this 
tame surrender when their comrades were lying dead around them 
and many of the gunners paid the extreme penalty. This regiment 
held the line of the Meuse until the engineers could come up and pre- 
pare a crossing of the river, when the battle was resumed. A cross- 
ing of the river was effected on the evening of the 9th of October, 
and it was on the morning of the loth, after the company had 



520 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

reached its objective, that I was captured. The company was quite far 
advanced and I was called upon to go back to battalion headquarters 
to see about the disposition of the wounded. It was while on this 
that I unexpectedly ran into a German stronghold that had moved in 
behind, after our rapid advance. After my capture I was taken to a 
prison camp near the province of Luxemburg, where I remained 
about a week, then I was removed to another prison camp at Mount 
Media. Here we remained for eleven days, and were again trans- 
ferred, this time to the American prison camp near Rastatt, located 
across the Rhine in the province of Baden. It was well located and 
the sanitary conditions were good. The food was also very good, as 
the American Red Cross saw to it that the boys received good, whole- 
some food and plenty of it. 

It was during the first eighteen days of my capture, in the two first 
mentioned camps, that I almost starved to death. One loaf of bread, 
about the size of our fifteen-cent loaf, was issued to seven men for the 
day. This bread was composed of a mixture of two-tenths sawdust, 
three-tenths potato flour, and the other five-tenths barley and wheat 
flour. In the morning we were given a very poor substitute for cof- 
fee, and at noon had a thick stew composed of turnips and cabbage, 
and though it was also supposed to contain some fat this was hard to 
locate. The boys would not eat it until starved to it by hunger, as 
it smelled and tasted rotten. However, there were a few Russians in 
camp and they seemed to thrive on it, for the boys would turn their 
soup ration over to them. For supper a thin replica of the dinner 
was issued. Outside of this starvation diet we were quite well treat- 
ed. It will be remembered it was at this time that the Germans were 
treating the Americans especially well, as they had the after-war 
settlement in view. 

. Everybody knows how scarce soap was in Germany at this time and 
the boys in the prison camps were especially well supplied with this 
precious article through the Red Cross. The Germans would go to 
almost any length to obtain it, paying as high as fifteen marks for a 
small cake. Our boys kept themselves in a small supply of spending 
money by being saving of their soap ration and selling it to the 
Germans. 

Before we reached a branch of the American Red Cross I was so 
nearly starved that my stomach would not retain clear water. 

After the signing of the Armistice the prisoners at Rastatt were 
released and given in charge of the Swiss Government for transpor- 
tation back to France. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 521 

Barrage Pretty at a Distance 

Written by Arvid S. Johnson, a private of Company A, One Hun- 
dred Thirtieth Infantry, Thirty-third Division. 

The night of the 27th of September, 1918, was the worst night I 
ever spent. During the day we hiked to Chateau Court, and in the 
evening to some reserve trenches. I rained all night and we had no 
shelter at all. On the morning of the 2gth we relieved the Three 
Hundred Twentieth Regiment of the Eightieth Division. The 
Germans were putting over a barrage at the time, and the only 
thing that saved us was the dense shrubbery in the woods. We were 
under shell fire from three directions and for a week we were under 
continuous shell fire until the Fourth Division on our left and the 
French on our right went over the top and drove the Germans back. 
After that it was not quite so bad, but I surely had given up hopes 
of ever seeing the States again. We called the place "Whizz Bang 
Hill," though the correct name is Bonnaveaux Woods. Many times 
the shells struck so closely as to throw dirt and rocks all over me, but 
I was fortunate enough that I was never struck with any pieces of 
the shells. We held the line here until October 15th. 

On the morning of the 17th we relieved the One Hundred Twenty- 
ninth Infantry of our own division at Consonvoye. Here I inhaled 
some of the German gas, but not enough to hurt me any. We were 
relieved by the Frenchmen on the night of the 20th, and hiked twenty- 
five miles to some French barracks, where we had our first real bath 
and rest for a month. The night of the 26th we went to the relief 
of the Three Hundred Fifteenth Infantry. On the 7th of November 
we went over the top and raided Chateau-de-Aulnois, captured forty 
prisoners, and had the good fortune to get back to the trenches with 
very few casualties. The raid was a success. We took the Germans 
by surprise. 

On the morning of the 9th of November, the Germans attacked us, 
but we drove them back with heavy losses. That same day we sent 
out a daylight patrol of forty-seven men who ran into five battalions 
of Germans. Though we fought them for a while, the odds were too 
strong and we retired to our trenches with only a few casualties. On 
the morning of the nth we had orders to go over the top and to con- 
tinue for about fifteen miles. We were laying out in No Man's Land 
waiting for the barrage when orders came to return, and not to fire 
another shot until further orders. The artillery on both sides kept 
on firing until the last minute, when on the nth, we received the glori- 
ous news that the war was over. In the celebration that night 
the sky was ablaze with all kinds of lights. 



522 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Beginning the 7th of December we hiked 135 miles through the pro- 
vince of Luxemburg and into the German town of CherbilHg. 

Thirty-third Division Won War, Says Chief 

On the arrival of the transport Aquitania in New York, Lieutenant 
Colonel Frederick Huidekoper was interviewed and his remarks are 
given in a New York dispatch under date of March 31, 1919. Col- 
nel Huidekoper was adjutant general of the "Prairie" boys, who re- 
turned on the Aquitania. He said: 

Soldiers of the Thirty-third Division are the equal of any troops in 
the United States Army. They have made the best record of any 
National Guard outfit in France. 

The British were amazed at the vigor, dash, and initiative shown 
by the Guardsmen. They'd never seen anything like it, as we were 
the first Americans to operate with them on the Somme. 

I think it can safely be said that the Thirty-third Division 
started the drive that led to Haig's big ofifensive and the smashing of 
the Hindenburg line. 

In the Argonne the Thirty-third fought with wonderful skill. In- 
dividual cases of valor are too numerous for mention. I think the 
record of the One Hundred and Thirty-second Infantry in winning 
seven out of forty-one congressional medals awarded to the entire 
A. E. F., speaks louder than anything else. 

Papers taken by our intelligence officers from captured and slain 
German officers showed that they held the Thirty-third Division to 
be "shock troops" and among the best operating against them. 

My World- War Experiences 
Written by Morris Nelson of the Thirty-fifth Division. 

Many years ago it was my ambition to visit Europe. Even after 
we had declared war on Germany, it was my desire to go as a soldier 
for my country. It was not because I was possessed of a roving dis- 
position, nor because I bore hate in my heart for an unknown enemy, 
and much less for the sake of honor or romance. There were, es- 
pecially, two fundamental reasons: first, to be one with the many to 
bring about the downfall of autocrac)' and the birth of democracv . 
and, second, to be one of the common throng. In the army, as in no 
other place, I could get in contact with all classes o'f men, could face 
the same temptations and feel the same thrills of the varying moods 
of mankind. There in camp, in trench, and on the battlefield I could 
touch elbows with the brave men who dared to die for justice and all 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 523 

that was dear to them, and thus through it all, I could better learn 
to understand the great needs of humanity. 

My early ambition to visit Europe was fostered, largely, through 
the study of history, and to a great extent, because it was the birth- 
place of my parents. I had read of old Mont Blanc; of the snow- 
clad Alps of Italy and Switzerland ; of the Roman ruins, including 
the Temple of Diana, and ancient fortresses that had often withstood 
the ever-invading hordes. I had read, with awe, of Hannibal's Pass, 
traversed by that great Carthaginian general as he led the forces 
over the mountains and into Italy. All these scenes, together with 
rnany others, it has been my fortune to see during my stay in Europe. 

HoAv wonderful it seems now that my youthful dreams should be 
realized under such strange circumstances. The snow forts and 
sham battles of school days were only too symbolic of maturer years. 
The child's pleasures, to a great extent, govern his whole life and are 
quite prophetic of his future indulgments. Being no exception to 
the common rule, I, naturally came to serve my country. 

On the 25th day of February, 1918, I was drafted into the service 
of Uncle Sam, and on the following day was sent to Camp Dodge, 
Iowa. It. was somewhat hard, for a time at least, to become recon- 
ciled to the new life of apparent servitude. The Cause, however, 
was urgent and I soon entered into the spirit of my responsibilities. 
Little dKl I surmise that I was soon to break home ties. Early on the 
morning of April 12th, after only a month and a half of training, I 
said good-by to the best friend in all the world, and entrained for a 
three-days' ride to the coast. It was a strange parting. Uncertain- 
ties, like spectres, stared us in the face ; four thousand miles of ocean 
were to separate us ; the clouds of war darkened our hopes of future 
happiness. Faith, however, in a greater Power, gave us courage to 
venture out into the unknown. 

I had never been farther east than Chicago. The trip to the coast 
was, therefore very interesting. We passed through Illinois, Indi- 
ana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and part of New Jersey. At 
some of the larger cities we were allowed to get off and parade up the 
main avenues. Everywhere the people received us with cheers and 
sent us away wishing us Godspeed. Many and varied were the scenes 
along our route. There were the hedge and rail fences of Illinois 
and Indiana of which my father had often told me, and the solid stone 
cliffs along the Ohio River covered with evergreen and shrubbery. 
There was the beautiful Lake Erie, as smooth as glass. We were 
fortunate to cross this lake just before sunset, and such a sunset I 
shall never forget ! It simply was superb ! It seemed as if the peace- 
ful waters opened up to receive it; its very beauty seemed to mock me. 
I thought of home and dear ones, of the grandeur and freedom of my 



524 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

native land, and wondered why I was called to sacrifice my happiness 
for another world, a world of war and isolation. 

At Weehawken, New Jersey, we got off the train and boarded a 
steamer which was to take us across the Hudson River to New York. 
This little trip was the climax of anything we had seen yet. The river 
itself is about a mile wide. It was literally covered with hundreds 
of liners, steamers, transports, flatboats, and vessels of every descrip- 
tion ; all of them busy doing their "bit" for LTncle Sam. On some of 
these flatboats I counted as many as thirty or more railroad cars, 
loaded with supplies. 

On April 15th, we reached Camp Mills, New York, a camp situat- 
ed on Long Island. At this place we stayed about nine days. On 
the 24th day of April, we broke camp, preparatory to going overseas. 
That same day, we boarded the Shropshire, an English transport, or 
in other words, cattleboat, for that is what it really was. The follow- 
ing day we were tugged out to sea and started off on a thirteen-day 
voyage. In the distance, the Statue of Liberty and the red building 
of Ellis Island loomed up, for a little while, through the morning mist, 
and then gradually disappeared from our sight. It was the last lin- 
gering glimpse of the good old U. S. A. 

My trip across the ocean was far from enjoyable. In a few days 
my appetite vanished completely. My digestive organs reversed and 
I spent many gruesome hours along the railing of the vessel. I swear 
to you that I never was before so sick. One consolation, however, 
was that I had a lot of company going through the same performance. 
Our quarters were close and uncomfortable. We lived on English 
rations which consisted chiefly of goat, tea, and slum. That word 
"goat" or "go-at" soon became a by- word of derision. When the 
waiters appeared at the stairway, there arose from everywhere, a 
mighty chorus of "Go-at ! go-at !" That was enough, I had to beat it 
for the hatchway. 

On the /th of May, we sailed up the Mersey River to Liverpool, 
and as we approached the beautiful city, our band played "America," 
and "The Star-Spangled Banner." It was very impressive. The 
English officers and civilians were there to greet us and they gaA^e us 
a very hearty welcome. Immediately after landing, the unloading of 
the ship began. \Ye were a large force of workmen, so the thousands 
of barracks bags, officers' baggage, and other paraphernalia were soon 
disposed of. 

The next day. May 8th, we were entrained for Southampton, situ- 
ated on the southern extremity of the British Isles. This trip was 
very interesting. It was a balmy spring afternoon, the scenery was 
at its best, the hillsides were covered with groves and orchards. Oc- 
casionally a patch of heather and a quiet stream added to the beauty 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 525 

of the picture. I had often wondered why England produced so 
many of our best poets but I can readily understand it now. No- 
where in my travel, have I seen more beautiful and varied scenery. 
The red-roofed buildings of the little villages and hamlets, with their 
odd construction and pleasant surroundings, were indicative of the 
carefree and happy peasant life. Numerous canals and waterways 
irrigate the fertile soil. Fruit farming and truck gardening is car- 
ried on extensively. The larger farms are divided into small irregu- 
lar patches, each enclosed by a well-kept hedge. Much of this land is 
owned by the lords and nobles, who live in beautiful mansions, while 
their servants must be content with humble huts. For a time the 
stern realities of a world war were forgotten and I was enjoying a 
pleasure trip through Nature's gardens. 

On the night of May 9th, we crossed the English Channel. Judging 
from the vessel's interior appearance, it must have been, previous to 
our voyage, used as a stock and freight transport. The discomfort 
was almost unbearable, for we were actually packed in like sardines. 
Many of us found no place in which to lie down. The ones who did 
were covered with pitch, lime, and other refuse. It was but a gentle 
foretaste of coming days, when we would have been only too glad to 
partake of its shelter. 

The following morning we entered the harbor of Le Havre, unload- 
ed, and hiked about eight kilometers (approximately five miles) to a 
rest camp. It was a warm day, the packs were heavy, and the great- 
er part of us had not yet fully recovered from the strenuous ocean voy- 
age. On the way, therefore, many of the boys fell by the roadside. 
To carry a hundred-pound pack, for hours at a time, is a man's job, 
especially on the hard and hilly roads of France. 

The next six weeks were spent, principally, in training and hiking 
from place to place. A fifteen-kilometer hike was generally longer 
than estimated; therefore, instead of calling them kilometers, we 
would call them "kill-a-soldier." For several weeks we were under 
English training and lived on English rations. It was the usual diet 
of "go-at," tea, and slum, a combination that I abhorred. It was a 
happy day when we again changed to American ways of living. 

With the exception of Russia, France has the greatest national 
riches of any European country and has a very agreeable climate. 
There are vast acres of pine and beech forests. Much of this has, 
of course, been laid waste by war. Potatoes, cereals, and grapes 
are the chief products of the soil. She has a good and safe railroad 
system, all crossings being well guarded. The public highways are 
also far superior to ours, having a surface of gravel or crushed rock. 
In times of peace, these roads are kept in perfect condition at all times. 
France is a land of history. Because of its natural resources and 



526 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

fertile valleys, it has for centuries been the envy of other nations. 
Such characters as Charlemagne, Louis IX, Joan of Arc, and even 
Napoleon, and of our own times such leaders as Joffre, Clemenceau, 
and Foch, have all helped bring France to her present high position. 
It is the land of the Dark Ages, the Crusades, the Great Revolution, 
and the recent World War. Upon her soil more decisive wars have 
been fought than in any other land. 

So far I have only mentioned the milder side of military life, but a 
more strenous time was awaiting us. It was about the middle of 
July, when the Americans began their great offensive. At Chateau 
Thierry, our marines wrote themselves into fame by taking Belleau 
Woods. They pressed the Germans on all sides and fought their way 
through shell fire and machine-gun nests, often without food or water 
for five days at a time. A few days later the second battle of the 
Marne took place. Everywhere the enemy were driven back over the 
pontoon bridges and sustained fearful losses. In the fury of the bat- 
tle they were forced into the river and drowned. 

At the same time that such fearful slaughter was taking .place near 
Paris, our division, the Thirty-fifth, was being initiated in the Vos- 
ges Mountains in Alsace. We started for the trenches on the even- 
ing of July 19th. It was a hard march. All night we climbed up 
the dark mountain side. Not a sound was made, save the heavy tread 
of hobnails. No smoking or lights were permitted. Occasionally 
a smothered curse could be heard from some one reeling under a gall- 
ing pack. Just before daybreak we entered a dense forest on the 
mountain side. There we unrolled our blankets and hid through the 
day. To kee]i from rolling down the steep slope while sleeping, many 
of the boys tied themselves to trees. In the evening the hike was 
continued and we reached our dugouts about 11 o'clock. The next 
night a detail, including myself, was sent up to the front line to re- 
pair a breach in the wall. This line was within a hundred yards of 
the Boche and I assure you, we had a delicate and dangerous task be- 
fore us. We could not work fast, as any littlfe noise would attract the 
enemy's attention. Occasionally a flare or bursting shell would go 
up and illuminate No Man's Land, or a stray bullet would whistle by 
and we would duck down, then we would resume our work, only to 
duck again. Thus the first fearful night passed and the breach was 
repaired. 

We spent a month in this sector. It was very hilly and covered 
with brush and forest. In many places only the barren stumps and 
numerous graves remained to tell the stories of past years when the 
two armies met in fearful conflict, each side suffering enormous losses. 
We did very little fighting on this front. There was one night, how- 
ever, when something must have scared Jerry, for all of a sudden all 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 527 

Hell seemed to break loose. He was evidently preparing to come 
over. Our signal for a barrage went up and in two minutes, every 
valley and hillside was pouring forth a volley of artillery and machine- 
gun fire that no army could have withstood. Every available man 
was instantly at his post with fixed bayonet. Before daybreak 
everything was quiet again and, although serious enough, we couldn't 
help but joke over the excitement. 

At night time, a sentinel's duty on an outpost was very nerve-rack- 
ing. Objects seemed to be transformed into weird crouching figures. 
In a nearby tree a hoot owl would perch, doling its mournful notes, 
or a bold rat would scamper over the tin roof. During the daytime, 
our tasks were less strenuous. We would often go to the rear of the 
lines to gather raspberries and huckleberries of which there was an 
abundance. 

In the early morning of August 17th, we were relieved by another 
outfit and went back in reserve. This period was of short duration, 
for things were happening all along the battle front, and so we were 
soon on our way to the St. M'ihiel sector, where we were to be in sup- 
port. We started on the eve of September 12th, and hiked all night 
with heavy packs, through mud and a drenching rain. Just before 
daylight we pitched pup tents by the roadside, under cover of brush 
and trees. AH night long the cannon boomed and we were not sur- 
prised the following day to hear that our doughboys were driving the 
enemy before them and taking thousands of prisoners. At night 
time the airplanes would fly over us, dropping bombs and causing a 
little alarm. 

On the 1 8th of September, we started toward the Argonne and 
Meuse front. The first day we were transported in trucks, the next 
few days we spent in hiding by day and hiking by night. On this 
sector, the Germans had concentrated scores of their best divisions. 
Among them were many of the Crown Prince's famous Prussian 
Guards. They were evidently expecting a drive, but were puzzled 
to know when it would take place. On the twenty-fifth we "pulled 
stakes" and started off for the "big shoot." Under cover of dark- 
ness, we hiked for about three hours and stopped just outside of a 
little ruined village. Here we waited on a hillside until about day- 
break. All night long the artillery barked unceasingly, flares and 
signal lights going up all along the lines. To the rear of us the giant 
marine guns were sending over their huge sixteen-inch shells, each 
discharge fairly shaking the ground we stood on. At 2 a.m., a three- 
hour barrage began and every piece of artillery was turned loose on 
the enemy's fortifications. It was a continuous roar. For once Jer- 
ry was having his "iron rations" issued in great style. At about 5 
o'clock the barrage lifted. The zero hour had come and we went 



528 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

over the top ! The One Hundred Thirty-eighth was in the lead and 
our regiment, the One Hundred Fortieth, foHowed in support. It 
was a grand sight. Not a man flinched or lost his nerve. Every 
command was obeyed and we were soon marching on across No 
Man's Land in squad column. It was hard to find our way through 
the fog and smoke. Communication lines, wire entanglements, and 
shell holes made progress very difficult. We had not gone far when 
we began to meet large groups of prisoners. Each group would be 
conducted to the rear by two or three Americans. The prisoners 
were shabby-looking fellows and were glad enough to fall into our 
hands. 

The Germans' front line was well fortified. They had tunneled 
into the hillsides and were living in concrete apartments. Some of 
these were several tiers high. Judging from the food, fine furniture, 
and other conveniences, they had apparently lived in luxury and pleas- 
ure. For about four years these had been their permanent homes. 
It was too bad the Yanks should come over and destroy their play- 
house. 

Although we were only in support, that first day was not without 
its hardships and dangers. We carried light packs, but before night 
were glad enough to lay them down. We must have advanced that 
day about four miles. We soon came within range of the enemy's 
artillery fire, and often had to seek protection in some trench or shell 
hole till the worst was over and then advance again. At about 3 
o'clock we came in sight of our first dead. They had evidently run 
into some machine-gun nests. At sight of these dead, my heart filled 
with loathing and hatred. Was this a demonstration of Prussian 
civilization? Was this the expression of German kultur? That 
night we slept on a hillside just outside of Cheppy. Our covering con- 
sisted of a slicker and the blue skies above us. It was chilly and bv 
morning a drizzling rain set in. Just before daybreak we were aroused 
and were once more on our unpleasant march. We took the lead 
and relieved the One Hundred Thirty-eighth, which the previous day 
had suffered immense losses. We had left our artillery pretty well 
in the rear and soon realized that we were up against a stiff proposi- 
tion. We needed support. The command was therefore given to 
"dig in" and wait for tanks. Our ranks were being shelled terribly. 
It was while waiting here that I had the bayonet blown off my gun. 
A shell burst almost within arm's length of where I lay, severely 
wounding a couple of machine gunners lying near me and almost 
covering me wath earth. At about 3 o'clock, we saw the tanlvs ap- 
proaching. They came up alwut twenty or thirty yards apart. They 
looked like monstrous caterpillars slowly wending their course up and 
down the hillsides, defying every obstacle, and apparently heedless of 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 529 

the withering artillery fire. As they passed us, the command was 
given to go over the top. Not a man hesitated. It was a grand 
sight to see the Yankees fearlessly advancing down the hill, against 
a terrific barrage. The men fell on either side and the stretcher- 
bearers were soon busy carrying ofif the wounded. Some of these 
were mangled in a horrible manner. We advanced to the next hill 
and that night slept for the first time in German trenches. 

In the early dawn of morning, we were again aroused and once 
more the serious command was given to advance. Little did we real- 
ize that within a few hours the nearby hills and valleys were to be 
strewn with thousands of dead and wounded. Our advance as usual 
was obstructed by shell holes, trenches, and endless miles of wire 
entanglements. Through the latter the tanks soon made a pathway 
for the infantry. As we approached the crest of the hill, the Boche, 
from the opposite hill, turned loose on us all their war machinery and 
we were compelled to go down on the other side through a perfect 
sheet of shell fire. Men were hurled several feet into the air and in 
many cases they were wiped out in squads. This all happened in less 
than an hour. This sector might very appropriately be called the 
"Valley of the Shadow of Death" or the "Devil's Playground." An 
entrance made in my diary that afternoon gives a vivid picture of the 
battle: "September 28,— Still in the Van. Advanced about a mile 
but had to fall back a little and wait for tanks. Advanced again 
about a kilo, under heavy shell fire. Lost many in few minutes. At 
present, hiding in brush. Can hear a wounded soldier crying for 
water, his mouth and face shattered. War is HELL!" That even- 
ing, under cover of darkness, we retired to some dense brush. There 
through a drizzling cold rain, we sat down in the mud and waited for 
morning. Never loefore in my life had I felt so forsaken. I had 
borne a good deal, but this night's experiences were almost unbear- 
able. 

The following day, Sunday, September 29th, nothing of special im- 
portance took place on our part of the sector. Our regiment was, 
however, exposed to enemy machine-gun fire and during the afternoon 
it was necessary to fall back about a half mile and strengthen our po- 
sitions. There was heavy shelling and at night a lot of gas was sent 
over. 

Then next day was spent in the trenches prepared by the engineers 
the previous day. At last the welcome rumors came up to the front 
line that our division was to be relieved the next morning. The Ger- 
mans must have heard it, too, for all night long they pestered us 
with mustard gas. This ruse of the enemy is often more deadly than 
shell fire. Death from it is terrible. It burns out the lungs and finally 
strangles its victims. 



530 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Just before dawn of October ist, the First Division came to our 
relief. Our shattered division assembled at the foot of the hill. It 
was a sorry-loking outfit. Five days of ceaseless fighting had re- 
duced us to less than half of our original strength. Our dlothing 
was torn and dirty. For a week we had neither had time nor con- 
veniences to shave or wash, but we had won our objective and could 
well afiford to forget our worries. 

What a field of waste and misery we had to cross that morning. 
Words positively can not describe it. A person must use his own 
imagination. Vegetation had been totally destroyed. Guns, wag- 
ons, rolling kitchens, and other accessories laid heaped up everywhere. 
Horses and men were strewn from hill to hill. Many of the men 
were so fearfully mangled that they were beyond recognition. Their 
severed limbs, alone, gave evidence as to whether they were friends 
or foes. 

After five days rest (?) which consisted principally of hiking and 
drilling, we were again, on October 12th, sent to the front lines. 
This time to the famous Verdun sector, where' the French had resolved 
that the Germans should not pass. I will not begin to describe 
the extreme ruin of this part of the war zone. Words can not tell it. 
While here I had the rare privilege of seeing a Boche plane brought 
down in flames. One dark and rainy night a hundred of us were 
sent out on a scouting raid, with explicit orders to get a prisoner at 
any cost. We scoured No Man's Land all night but failed in our ob- 
ject. We stumbled over several of Jerry's trenches but he was no- 
where to be found. 

On November 5th, we left the lines and for several days made long 
hikes. We did not know where we were going, but we were told we 
were bound for something real lively, the Metz drive. But, thanks 
to Good Fortune, this was November loth, and the following day, 
the Armistice was signed. Were we happy? Not as hilarious as 
the folks at home, but just glad. Could it be true? Was this really 
the end? Were we soon going home? Little did we think that 
there would be five more months of anxious waiting till that dream 
could be realized. These were trying months indeed! There was a 
monotonous grind of guard duty, hand drilling, and real soldiering. 
It was during the Holidays that I had the special privilege of going 
to Aix-les-Bain on furlough. It was a trip long to be remembered. 
Our fare, board, and lodging were, of course, paid by the Govern- 
ment; and the Y. M. C. A. did the rest. I will not go' into detail as 
I have already mentioned some of the historical and ancient places 
it was my good fortime to see. 

On the 9th of March we started on our relay for the good old U. 
S. A. On Sunday morning we entrained for Le Mans. Here we 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 531 

stayed till the 31st of March, on which date we again entrained, this 
time for St. Nazaire. Our ship was in port and we had expected to 
board it at once, but we still had two weeks left of rigid inspection 
while the vessel was being unloaded and made seaworthy for the 
homeward voyage. 

On the 15th of April we bade farewell to foreign shores and boarded 
the Nansemond, a captured German transport, and on the following 
morning we were tugged out and started for "God's Country." It 
was a long and tedious trip. There were about 5,000 on board, in- 
cluding a large number of casuals. The sea was calm and every- 
body was in good spirits. On the morning of the 28th land was 
sighted and at about lO a.m. we entered Hampton Roads, Virginia, 
and once more we marched out on American soil. It was a thrilling 
experience. The people greeted us heartily. Even nature seemed to 
rejoice. It was a clear, warm day; the trees were blossoming, and 
everywhere the birds were singing their happiest carols. How un- 
like a year ago — this was indeed the sunshine after the rain. 

Things were moving pretty fast and we were soon on our way to 
Camp Dodge, where, on the 7th of May, I received my discharge. The 
fetters were off and once more I stepped out as a free man. 

An Advance Near Verdun 

Written by Lyle Chapman, second lieutenant of Company M, One 
Hundred Twenty-sixth Infantry, Thirty-second Division. 

On the night of September 25th we moved from the Bois de Lavoy, 
starting for the front. We marched until 3 o'clock in the morning, 
stopping to rest in the woods just south and west of Verdun, in which 
place I first heard the sound of high explosive shells — and one of 
them wounded three boys of Company I. We rested here until 10:30 
in the morning, when we received orders to proceed to the Bois de 
Hesse. It was shortly after receiving orders to move forward that I 
witnessed the death of the only American observer killed during our 
participation in the war. A German, flying an Allied plane a little 
over our observation balloons, which were three in number, turned 
quickly and shot a phosphorous bullet into the first American balloon, 
which contained two observers. The observer who jumped out on 
the right side got away safely; the downyard flight of the other one, 
who jumped out on the left side, was in the direct path of the burn- 
ing balloon ; the balloon fell directly on his parachute, which caught 
fire and came down burning, head-over-heels, to the ground. 

In our advance to the Bois de Hesse, being under continual observa- 
tion from the enemy at all times on account of the train, it was neces- 
sary for us to use what is known in the army as approach formation, 



532 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

keeping off the main traveled roads, using what cover was available. 
We arrived at Bois de Hesse at 5 :30 on the night of September 26th, 
being called to a halt right in front of our own artillery. The 
Germans caused us some inconvenience during the night and until 
noon the next day, at which time a scouting party was sent across No 
Man's Land and captured the snipers. We remained in the Bois de 
Hesse until the night of September 29th, when orders came to pro- 
ceed to the front. We rolled our packs, issued the rations and am- 
munition, and evacuated camp at 6 p.m. on the night of the 2gth. On 
account of the congestion of the roads across No Man's Land it was 
difficult to make any headway. By 9 o'clock at night we had ad- 
vanced about one kilometer. From that time until 6 o'clock the next 
morning we were held up and during that time we laid alongside the 
road, where, lying in the mud with rain falling all night long, I had 
as comfortable sleep as I had ever had. 

We were on our way again at 6 o'clock and moved forward through 
what had been No Man's Land, through Avercourt up to the Bois de 
Montfaucon. We pitched our tents here at 11 a.m., September 30th, 
but at 2 p.m. received orders directing us to relieve the Thirty-seventh 
in the front lines that night. We started marching forward at sun- 
down. Previous to this time we had always marched in columns of 
two; now our orders were to march in single file, five paces between 
each man. We marched until 3 a.m. when we reached our position 
in support of the Second -Battalion, One Hundred Twenty-sixth In- 
fantry, near the little town of Ivory. Our battalion was located in 
and alongside of a stone quarry, my platoon being to the right of 
the quarry, along a single line of hedge. 

It was cold and rainy, so we got in very little sleep before daylight, 
but the morning came off bright and sunshiny. The first thing after 
breakfast we walked part way up a hill just in front of us that had 
been battle-ground a couple of days before. Here we saw hundreds 
of guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition, packs, etc. The first 
part of the morning there was no activity whatever, so we made 
no particular preparations to dig ourselves in. At 10 o'clock the Ger- 
mans sent over about a dozen high explosive shells right into our sec- 
tor — and within four minutes there was dirt flying in all directions. 
During our stay in support we had about twenty-five casualties from 
high explosives and gas. While in this location we could observe 
much aeroplane activity and saw quite a number of flights each day, 
occasionally seeing observation balloons being shot up and burned. 

On the evening of November 3d we moved into the front lines at 
the Bois de Eimont. We started at 9 o'clock p.m., arriving in our 
positions in the front lines at 12 o'clock. We dug ourselves in and 
gave the boys orders to unroll their packs and get some sleep in an- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 533 

ticipation of an attack the next morning. At 4:50 a.m. I received 
orders to report to battalion headquarters, there to receive the order 
of battle and pyrotechnics. We got instruction to go over the top 
at 5 :25, with orders that the barrage was to advance at the rate of 
100 meters in five minutes. This was to be without advance artil- 
lery preparation. The order having reached us so near' to the time of 
going over we had to do considerable hustling to get our packs rolled 
to be ready in time to start. At exacty 5 125 the barrage started, 
and exactly at 5 :25 the Germans started a counter-barrage. Some 
of the boys who had been through the earlier battles of the war at 
Chateau Thierry and Soissons said that this counter-barrage was the 
greatest they had ever witnessed, making advance impossible. This 
was my first experience in an attack. It was impossible for us to 
move with heavy shells dropping around and among us, with trees 
falling all about us, but I was afraid possibly the rest of the outfit 
might be going forward, so I managed to get to a point of contact 
with the other platoon and found that they were in the same position 
as my platoon. Finally, the ofticer in command 'of the company or- 
dered us to withdraw to the stone quarry. There we reformed our 
company, and found that we had eighty-one men left out of the origi- 
nal 243. Then our company of eighty-one men was formed into two 
platoons and reported to our major at the Bois de Eimont, who or- 
dered us to proceed with the attack. We went forward out of Bois de 
Eimont until we got out of the woods in our advance toward La- 
Grange farm, each man for himself from shell hole to shell hole, 
finally capturing LaGrange farm about 11 a.m., continuing our ad- 
vance to the Gaynes-Romagne road, where we dug in and consoli- 
dated our position to remain until the next morning. At 7 o'clock we 
again tried to advance, going forward possibly 300 meters, but on 
account of the terrific machine-gun fire and hand grenades we went 
back to the road. In about an hour we tried it again but were again 
forced to return to the road, making a report to our major that it 
was impossible for us to advance against the Boche's terrific fire. 
At 10 o'clock three French tanks were brought up to assist in the ad- 
vance and we followed about fifty yards behind them. The tanks 
cleaned out three or four machine-gun nests, turned around and went 
back. We dug in and consolidated our position about 200 meters 
from the Gaynes-Romagne road and held this position until relieved 
by the One Hundred Twenty-fifth Infantry an the evening of Oc- 
tober 25th. Then we went back to our starting point, the rock quar- 
ry. I left here on the morning of October Sth and was evacuated to 
the field hospital. 



534 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

America's Greatest Battle 

Part II of Frederick Palmer's story in Collier's Weekly, of the 
Meuse-Argonne offensive. 

In the first article we have seen our army break through the old 
first-line fortifications from the Meuse River to the Argonne Forest 
and, after its rapid advance in the open, clinch with the Germans 
before the strong positions on the whaleback of the heights toward 
Buzancy, which was our goal, while Ludendorfif marshaled his fresh 
divisions, his veteran artillery, and his chosen machine gunners to 
make the most of the reverse slopes, ravines, woods, and all the de- 
tails of a tricky commanding landscape. 

This article covers the second and the hardest phase of the battle 
which lasted all through the month of October. Autumn was now 
upon us in earnest. The nights were penetratingly cold and the 
ground, where the men had to lie, moist from the chill rains which 
turned paths and roads into sloughs. Mist interfered with aerial 
and artillery observation. The overcast sky was in keeping with the 
character of the battle. For days on end there seemed no sign of 
any color in relief from the dull grays and browns except the red, 
white, and blue bull's-eye of an airplane when it flew over low. We 
were preparing another general attack for October 4 with the fresh 
divisions which had just been brought into line. On the left the 77th 
Division was still knitting its way through the Argonne Forest. The 
French Fourth x\rmy on its left and the 28th Division on its right 
had not been able to make rapid advance at first, and the farther into 
the forest the 77th went the more formidable became the ground and 
the difficulties of keeping any uniformity of formations in the attacks 
through the thick underbrush. The Argonne was a strange hunting 
ground for the 77th; one better suited for Davy Crockett than for 
city men. But the 77th did not want to yield its place in the Ar- 
gonne to any other division. It wanted the conquest of the forest 
to be as much its own as if it belonged to Manhattan Island. In an 
advance on October 3 Major Whittlesey's battalion gained its objec- 
tive and then found that it had lost contact with the l^attalion on its 
left, that its messengers did not get through to the brigade command, 
and finally that it was cut off. For five days, with rations for only 
a day and a half, his battalion was to remain dug into a hillside, among 
the roots of trees on the walls of a great ravine, while the Germans 
enfiladed his position with trench-mortar and machine-gun fire. This 
quiet young lawyer, whom a training camp at home had sent to the 
Argonne, shaved every morning and kept himself looking neat and 
cheerful when he went among his men, although he was as hungry 
as thev. He acted as if this was not an unusual situation for a bat- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 535 

talion in the Great War — but, on the contrary, a recognized feature 
of the game. As they saw he never flinched, it was easier for them 
not to flinch. It was a gallant, appealing incident, that of this 
battalion of Metropolitans lost in this famous old forest, while their 
comrades could not break through in the rear to them, while the 
French on the left could not relieve the pressure or their 28th Divis- 
ion the pressure on the right, while all the way to the North Sea the 
guns were thundering in the Allied advance and from the Aire to the 
Meuse our men were attacking throughout these five days with a 
fervor which in an Asiatic race might have been called fanaticism. 

When I went over the ground with Whittlesey he explained the ac- 
tion. He had little to say of what he had done himself ; this to any- 
one who knows something of the mettle that makes good soldiers was 
significant that he possessed it. He deserved great credit; but — 
and he understood this simply and finely — he deserved no more than 
many other battalion commanders. The Lost Battalion! — the be- 
sieged battalion! — appealed to public imagination! Other battalions 
did equally glorious things with equal skill and equal stoicism. 

On the east of the forest the 28th was still fighting in attack after 
attack to master the wooded escarpments which the forest flings 
out into the valley of the Aire. Across the Aire, along the heights 
which protected the heights of Buzancy, the Germans had built the 
Friemhilde-Stellung, a rough trench line with barbed wire guarded 
by covering positions in front which was especially strong in the 
Romagne forests. Under this name of Romagne may be grouped 
the series of woods which were the Wilderness of this campaign. 
Beyond, toward the Meuse, there were other woods: Cunel, a small 
wood but wickedly situated, and Fays and Foret Woods, which con- 
tinued, in a little congeries of woods and heights, the line of German 
defense; and bear in mind the heights on the other side of the Meuse 
— always keep them in the picture, for in the battle to those who were 
within range of their shell fire they were never out of it. 

Our men in the front line had dug themselves in — and so had the 
Germans — in little fox holes in ravines, on reverse slopes or in the 
edge of the woods, where they kept watch until we attacked in force 
again or repulsed counter-attacks with machine-gun fire, or crept out 
at night as patrols, or in the first flush of dawn made a rush to take 
another "bite" and gain some vantage point. 

Trench warfare in the old sense was now completely over. The 
armies had all accepted this new system of thin outpost lines in the 
fox holes while the machine gunners moved their guns skillfully about 
in forming crisscross zones of fire. Tactics had been resolved back 
to the individualism of the old days for the infantryman. 

It was not in our nature to fight in the way that the French fought, 



536 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

and better too that it was not our way, as we were the young army, 
with the freshness of young and growing power in our thrusts. The 
French had fought with our driving intensity on the Marne; latterly 
they had become thrifty. They were at their best — unexcelled — in 
making "bites under the protection of their artillery. When they 
had won a gain they would dig in thoroughly and wait until every- 
thing was ready to make another. Our men were impatient of this 
method. It was slow to them. They wanted to make "a real" job 
of it when they attacked; to "go to it" with a rush "right on through." 
This kind of tactics developed their alertness, their resourcefulness, 
and their dynamic nervous energy. Moreover, our men liked to 
feel that they were a part of a big attack. Retail business did 
not interest them. They had come from a land of department stores 
and huge industrial corporations. No general can change a soldier's 
racial character, he is wise only as far as he may mold it. 

Now, it was evident, as you looked at the position on the morning of 
October i, after our first rush had spent itself, that we must 
take the heights east of the Aire in another rush. This was the key 
to the situation. We had the experienced ist, 2d, and 3d Divisions 
going into line in place of exhausted young divisions. The ist had 
been in reserve in the center. It was to have been used to drive on 
through in the bulge toward Buzancy after the 79th had exhausted 
itself. 

There are men who say that if we had had the ist, 2d, and 32d in 
the center at the start of the Argonne battle and our new divisions 
had been given the task at Saint-Mihiel, which was better suited to 
their capabilities, we .should have gained the crest of the whaleback 
on the second day and taken 100,000 prisoners. This is interesting 
speculation for the gossips of Paris or for headquarters of any one 
of the Allied armies; and all headquarters are always expecting more 
of their forces than it is in human power to accomplish — which is a 
sound rule for commanders to follow. However, we could not have 
had the old divisions on the Argonne and Saint-Mihiel too, when we 
were preparing for the Argonne before we struck at Saint-Mihiel. 

A DOZEN EELLEAU WOODS 

The 1st was now transferred from Cameron's Fifth Corps to Lig- 
gett's First Corps. It was given the place of honor in the general 
attack of October 4, and a place of honor in the Argonne battle was 
bound to be costly though glorious. It was to drive a wedge into the 
German lines by moving up and down the slopes and over the crest 
of the thickly wooded hills on the east bank of the Aire. All our 
troops in the Argonne Forest and all eastward to the Meuse were call- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 537 

ing for this action in grim necessity. So too were the British and 
French armies, either wanting German reserves drawn from its front 
and both hoping that we might make a decisive thrust. 

Since my return home I have been asked if Belleau Wood was our 
most briUiant action. One answers: "Brihiant in what respect? 
In battle efhciency? In courage?" For at the front we thought of 
divisions only in terms of efficiency. At home you thought of them 
in terms of sentiment, pride, and affection and of a great faith. I 
should place in even higher esteem than Belleau Wood the drive of 
the 1st and 2d divisions toward Soissons in July and possibly still 
higher that drive which the ist was now to make. We had a dozen 
Belleau Woods in the Argonne. 

The 1st was a regular division, the pioneer of our divisions in 
France, the longest trained; but it was not regular in the old sense, 
being better than regular to my mind, as we have understood that 
word regular in the past. Many of its young officers were out of the 
training camps, and the men who had filled the gaps in the ranks 
had come from the \'olunteers or the draft in all parts of the country. 
It was amazing how soon that divisional machine made a recruit a 
veteran. 

"Buddy, you now belong to the ist, and in the ist we — ." Thus 
the neophyte soon learned the ways of the ist. As a "kid" lieuten- 
ant of the 1st, who has now answered his last roll call, said: "This 
is a mean, nasty war, but it is the only war we have had or most of 
us ever want, and we will have to put up with it and fight the boche 
in the meanest, nastiest way possible, if that is the way to lick 
the mean, nasty boche." This was certainly not a sophomoric view 
of war, and it was characteristic of the ist Division. 

"as per schedule" 

I think that possibly when the ist Division went into the Argonne 
battle it was the most efficient American division that ever wore shoe 
leather ; if it was not, then perhaps the 2d was — as all men of the 2d 
will agree. We were all thrilled when the ist took the place of 35th 
and advanced over the ground where the 35th had fought desperately. 
The dead of the 35th were in groups in the Exermont ravine. When 
the men of the ist saw them they knew how good it was to be veter- 
ans under exacting, competent direction ; for veterans do not bunch 
under the enemy's fire. This is giving the enemy a target. 

And Summerall was in command! He had led the ist in the drive 
toward Soissons. He is a leader compounded of all kinds of fighting 
qualities, a crusader and a calculating tactician, who, some say, can 
be gentle as the sweetest-natured chaplain, while others say that he is 



538 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

nothing- but brimstone and ruthless determination. The ist, with 
Summerall in command! We knew it would "go through!" It has 
always gone through. This was the part cast for the ist in the A. 
E. F. We knew that it would not attack in too great density, for 
that is not being mean and nasty to your enemy. Its battalion com- 
manders would not hesitate in an emergency, and its veteran gunners 
would roll barrages of fire accurately and steadily in front of the in- 
fantry. Where strong points resisted, the artillery would be prompt 
with its blasts of destruction to clear the way. 

"As per schedule," the brief divisional report begins the account 
of this operation — a report which is the coldest prose I have read 
for as hot a piece of work as I have ever seen. I am not quite sure 
that among his other names the general might not be called "Per 
Schedule" Summerall. 

The Germans had a hot reception prepared for the ist, but the ist 
expected this. It was due on those heights unless the Germans had 
forgotten the art of war. Four new divisions were identified on the 
ist's front on the first day's attack. Constantly, undaunted by cas- 
ualties, the division kept plowing ahead, blasting the enemy's counter- 
attacks before he could bring enough troops to bear, keeping the initi- 
ative in its own hands. There were delays from scorching machine- 
gun fire down the roads and ravines; on the slopes of Hill 240, from 
gas and shells as well as machine-gun fastnesses that would have baf- 
fled inexperienced hands, but no prolonged repulses. 

The mood of the ist was right; it was the mood of men who will 
not take no, and require an immediate yes. For eight days altogether 
the 1st was fighting steadily, not taking bites, but in determined, per- 
sistent action. It had taken Fleville, a village on the bank of the 
river, but that was only an incident. Fleville fell when the hills 
that overshadowed it fell. With flanks on the eastern valley wall of 
the Aire exposed to fire from the western wall the ist applied the 
skill which it had learned in hugging cover from fire both in flank 
and in front as it greedily sought more advantages. 

When the ist came out, its losses were over 9,000 in killed and 
wounded. Half of its infantry was out of action. It had paid the 
price, but it was the price of vital success. If in future years you 
should ever ride down the valley of the Aire as you look up at those 
hills which command all the valley and the gap of Grand Pre, you 
may conclude that not only the ist but the other divisions which 
fought through their machine gun nests and underbrush were capable 
of deeds which make Lookout Mountain appear somewhat less of a 
battle by comparison than some of us think that it was. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 539 

THROUGH A GAMUT OF SHEIvL FIRE 

The 1st had reHeved the pressure on the 77th, thus helping to ex- 
tricate the Lost Battahon, and opened the door closed by cross fire for 
the 28th, somewhat beleaguered, but now pressing forward on the 
other side of the Aire Valley at the forest's edge, to repay the 1st in 
kind by helping to relieve it of fire from across the valley; for the 
business of each division was to keep up the schedule set for it as one 
of a number of units in line, lest it prove an unwelcome companion 
which exposed its neighbors. For a week the 28th had fretted 
against the formidable Taille I'Abbe, with its only avenue of approach 
open field under the eyes of waiting machine gunners. Now it work- 
ed its way around this frowning obstacle and it crossed the Aire and 
took Chatel Chehery with its storming parties, making sure that 
at least one height. Hill 244, would not enfilade the ist any further. 
The 28th had been in that infernal trough of the Aire for two weeks 
at a cost of 3,000 casualties; but before it was relieved it had finally 
cleaned the last of the Germans out of the Thickets, the Abbe Woods, 
which had been the nightmare of its Argonne career. Some people 
were calling it the Iron Division. Steel is tempered iron. The 28th 
was tempered in the Aire Valley. After the Aire the Susquehanna 
or the Monongahela ought to look pleasant. 

If the salient which the ist made had not been spread, then the ist 
had simply made a thrust into the lion's jaw. If the salient were 
sufficiently spread, then the lion's jaws were dislocated. As the 28th 
alone was not equal to that task, the 82nd Division, under Duncan, a 
sound, cool soldier trained in the school of the ist, was put in on the 
6th as a link between the ist and the 28th (which it was later 
to relieve) with mission of making a rush worthy of the company it 
kept across the river bottoms, to take some particularly sheer and 
difficult heights on the Argonne Forest side of the valley which com- 
manded the zone of the ist and impeded ultimate progress of the 77th 
in the Forest. The 82nd was inexperienced in battle, but our com- 
mand had learned that the National Army divisions never lacked 
drive, and this one, the "all- America" division, seemed to feel that its 
honor was bound up with that of all the draft men in the United 
States. 

Having failed to check the thrust of the ist, the next step for the 
Germans was to try to check this thrust. They did not depend upon 
machine guns and artillery on the ridges alone, but brought both down 
on to the river bottom to wait for our infantry as it came upon ris- 
ing ground. Field guns attached to battalions fired at point-blank 
range. In that case the thing to do was to take the guns; and 
the 82nd took them. 



540 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

In places the men could ford the Aire. In other places they had to 
build bridges. They had six days of repeated charges. Not every 
charge went home. Some that went home did not stick. Twice they 
took the village of Cornay and twice they had to retire in face of 
counter-attacks, but night found them in each instance farther ad- 
vanced. They climbed up the ridge walls aroimd bowlders and 
through thickets to find that the German machine gunners had some 
unexpected angle of fire that recjuired further consideration of the 
situation. They were gassed and shelled continually, of course. Take 
it for granted that everybody in front was gassed and shelled through- 
out the battle. 

One battalion of the 82d lost all but 190 men. In one batch of 300 
prisoners that the 826. took every man was a machine gunner or an 
artillerist, and a large percentage of these were veteran noncommis- 
sioned officers of a type that usually do not bother to surrender while 
they have a cartridge left. The 826. was in the sector twenty-five 
days. Its casualties were 6,700, including a thousand killed. At one 
time it was down to 4,500 men fit for duty on its morning reports. 
General Dtmcan established a divisional rest camp for the tired men 
out of range of the shells, and his parental care and the extraordi- 
nary tenacity of the men kept the division going at a time when we 
needed every man we could muster at the front. 

At the end of the second of those first six days the 82d had so far 
cleared the road for the 77th that it had a new lease of life in a sin- 
gle bound of eight kilometers through the Argonne Forest. At the 
end of the sixth day the S2d had reached the Kriemhilde-Stellung 
itself, where it got the k,ind of information from the Germans which 
was a sufficient hint to our army command that the 82d had better 
pause in its eager course of victory. On the other side of Grand Pre 
the French Fourth Army could not bulge out toward the Bourgogne 
Forest and the 77th crossed the river and entered Grand Pre and 
Saint-Juvin quite handily. Now, thanks to the gallantry of the 82d, 
all that stretch of river bottom called the Grand Pre gap was ours, 
while ahead there looked down upon us still the final summits of the 
whaleback which we must attain before we could strike downhill to- 
ward the German lines of communication. 

This covers Liggett's corps through the first ten days of October. 
We turn to Cameron's Fifth Corps, which was facing the center of 
the enemy's position. There the 32d, of Michigan and Wisconsin, 
had come into line for the attack of the 4th in place of the 37th. 
Its division staff" had established a reputation which it must maintain. 
The divisional emblem of the 32d is an arrow, which means that when- 
ever the 32d went against the German line it pierced the German 
line. There were some men from Wisconsin who relished that kind 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 541 

of an operation, as it gave them a chance to show Prussian guards 
how Americans of German origin could fight. 

In their first battle on the heights of the Ourcq the men of the 32d 
learned, as the 82d learned in the valley of the Aire, that if you fail 
to take a position the first time try again and if you are put out of a 
position retake it. Now they had a tougher problem than they had 
on the heights of the Ourcq or at Juvigny. They were expected to 
pierce the Kriemhilde-Stellung, the great Romagne defense line. 
Between them and the Stellung were strong covering positions pro- 
tecting all approaches. Through a gamut of shell fire and swept 
by machine-gun fire they reached the village of Gesnes; but the Ger- 
man guns concentrated on Gesnes and put a circle of shell fire around 
it in a way that made it no place for wise soldiers to occupy until 
some of the German guns had been silenced. After they had with- 
drawn, their artillery had a free hand to pound every point where the 
gunners thought there were machine-gun nests or enemy Ijatteries. 
Then the 32d attacked again, making and holding gains, but finding 
that the more machine guns they captured and the more that were 
destroyed by artillery fire, the more the Germans seemed to have. 

CONSOLIDATING GAINS 

On the 7th a brigade of the 91st which still held a place in the line 
after its fierce experience in the first days of the battle was put under 
command of the 32d; but what the 32d needed was more ■artillery. 
The guns of the 42d or Rainbow Division, which had jusl come up 
in reserve to go into line, were attached to the 32d. This gave it 
double its usual complement of artillery — and veteran artillery into 
the bargain. 

The two artillery brigades ought to be able to blast a way for the 
infantry. With artillery enough, if there were sufficient room for it, 
all the Germans in the Kriemhilde-Stellung could be mixed with the 
desiccated landscape. Time was important too, for the 32d had the 
same kind of mission on the right of the ist Division in breaking 
into that Romagne woods system that the 82d had on the left in 
spreading the salient. The right flank of the ist was bent back un- 
der the sweep of the fire from the Cote de Chatillon, the worst of all 
the hills, and the Dame Marie Ridge. 

With the support of the combined artillery of the two divisions the 
32d put all its back into a fresh attack. Many an attack in this war 
with more gunfire in support has failed against less redoubtable posi- 
tions. On that day the German aviators were particularly spiteful. 
They flew low, pumping bullets from overhead in addition to the 
sweep of bullets from all kinds of ground angles in front. In the 



542 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

center the men of the 32d were checked. On the left they got a 
foothold in the Cote Dame Marie where the Germans came at them 
from all sides. On the right they got into the trench system and 
mixed it up hand to hand w'ith German machine-gun fire cutting into 
their supports. There was nothing left to do but to "consolidate 
gains," as the communiques say, and give the guns another inning 
in which, as the result of information acquired in the advance, they 
could apply their blasts with better results while the infantry made 
ready for another attack. 

BREAKING KRIEMHILDE STELLUNG 

Meanwhile the 42d came into line in place of the ist to endure the 
same kind of hammering from the heights that the ist had endured 
until the heights were mastered. The 42d was also a proud division 
with a proud record. The two divisions had a common task. As they 
were fighting side by side their rivalry was not a sedative to their am- 
bition in going against the strongest positions which they had ever 
attacked; and in the intricate business of Liaison, with commanders 
directing their men in supple formations along lines of least resist- 
ance, it is not surprising if there is some question as to which did 
the most to win the war. 

Both divisions made supreme efforts on the morning of the 14th, 
applying all the veteran experience of their infantry in their actual 
plans and of their artillery in flexible supporting barrages of shell 
fire. On its left the 32d drove through the town of Romagne itself, and 
despite the German artillery concentration on the town, mopped it up. 
On the right it had to intrench on the slopes of Cote Dame Marie for 
protection against irresistible fire. Then the 42d gained the ap- 
proaches to Hill 288, which was the key to the position, in such fash- 
ion that the command of the 32d, quick to see its opportunity, rushed 
a battalion around in flank and broke the Germans out of the Dame 
Marie. By night the 32d had advanced a mile and a half, which was 
a long distance against those Romagne positions. Fifty yards count- 
ed more than a mile after the line was finally broken on November i. 

As for the 42d, there were times in those succeeding days of re- 
morseless, grinding, driving efiforts — with support for patrols driven 
forward at night to renew the attack in full force in the morni^ig, 
when it seemed as if it were not within human strength to go on. 
But Summerall was now in command of the Fifth Corps sector, which 
had been side-slipped in order that he might have charge of that drive 
against the heights which he had begun with his old division. The 
task was set; it must be performed. It was performed. 

Will any soldier of the 42d ever forget the fearful pressure of the 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 543 

corps commander or the fire that swept down from every possilile hid- 
ing place ? The 42d took that monstrous Cote de Chatillon and Hill 
288. We had broken the Kriemhilde-Stellung, which was news to 
put heart into any tired army. General IMenoher of the 42d and 
General Haan of the 32d, who had commanded the divisions from the 
time of their arrival in France, had seen the results of long service 
in an accomplishment which is the soldier's best reward. The 32d's 
casualties were 5,019, with only 474 killed, and 1,095 prisoners had 
been taken. The 42d's casualties were 2,895, including the 380 
killed. 

The drive of these two divisions and of the 82d, after the ist had 
made the wedge, with the taking of the Grand Pre gap, stand out 
sensationally in their tactical importance above the ruck of battle 
which was raging in repeated attacks all the way to the Meuse River; 
and the divisions on our right toward the Meuse, whose equally per- 
sistent pressure was equally important in the whole plan, suffered as 
much as those on the left, if not more. It was the viciously brave 
work of the veteran regular 3d on its flank, under Major General 
Beaumont Buck, and later under Brigadier General Preston Brown, 
which permitted the success of the 32d. 

SILENCING HILL 299 

On the morning of the general attack of October 4 the 3d advanced 
over one ridge on its front and gained the second, where it drew a 
withering fire. In front of it was Cunel Wood and the valley of the 
Moussin Brook, where it later formed for the attack on the strong 
Mamelle trench, which it took finally on October 9. On the follow- 
ing days it repulsed a counter-attack and endured a furious and venge- 
ful German response to its success. The men had to withdraw from 
their new positions under concentrated bombardments only to slip 
back as soon as the fire was lifted with a catlike celerity before the 
Germans had time to improve their opportunity. 

For the 3d, no less than the other veteran divisions, had "old mas- 
ters" among its men to teach the raw recruits the tricks of the costly 
trade of war. They knew the bitterness of attacks that failed, of ad- 
vanced units having to filter back at night from dearly won vantage 
points which it was impossible to hold in small force. But defensive 
methods were not in their Chateau-Thierry tradition or in that of 
their commander. They had held the German under a threat of 
swinging in on the Romagne position, which diverted his fire from the 
32d and 42d even when the 4th was gaining no ground. By October 
20 they were ready to silence forever Hill 299, which was the high- 
est of all the hills in the area and looked down on the ravines and the 



544 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

roads and among patches of woods as upon an arena. They ap- 
proached it on either side, and in an emergency Colonel Morrow 
took command of runners and any troops available and personally led 
them through the Claire Chenes Wood. 

When the 3d, after twenty-six days in line, was relieved, its casual- 
ties in the Argonne battle had been 8,072, including 927 killed, the 
heaviest of any except the ist, I believe. The same kind of dogged, 
fiendish, and thankless work fell to the 4th (regular) Division, under 
Major General Hersey, which had not iDeen out of the line since the 
battle began and was to remain in line until October 18, when its cas- 
ualties were 5,960, including 679 killed. It had on its front the 
Freya Stellung, an eastern extension of the Kriemhilde Line, and a 
series of woods apparently separated only for the purpose of giving 
the German zones and observations. 

The 4th took Fays Woods, which was only an introduction to the 
charges and countercharges in the Foret Wood and the Brieulles 
W^ood, whose conquest could only be won by smothering the Germans 
out with shells and gas and then holding on against German shells 
and gas. Cronkhite's 80th, the Blue Ridge Division, which had been 
out of line after its brilliant advance, returned to the line for the Oc- 
tober attacks. And to what a sector, there on the heights above the 
trough of the Meuse ! On the morning of the 4th the 80th reached 
the edge of the Ogons Woods in flanking attacks which were 
stopped by flanking fire from the Fays Wood, and at night its patrols 
filtered into the wood, for that was the part the men from the Blue 
Ridge were fitted to play. They knew woods and mountain roads 
and how to shoot Germans as well as squirrels. 

TOWARD ROMAGNE 

The next morning Cronkhite had all his guns playing on the woods, 
and his machine guns gave his infantry the further protection of in- 
direct fire for a charge that gained something, but not the woods. 
At dusk the men repeated the attack, and this time they succeeded. 
There were other woods ahead, of course, — always more woods. By 
the night of the 9th the 86th was along the Cunel-Brieulles road, 
and in the small hours of the morning two companies slipped quietly 
— oh, very quietly — into the village of Cunel, bringing back two 
battalion staiTs of thirty German officers and sixty men. There was 
some style to that, although the officers did not see it in that light, 
and it was also something further in keeping with Blue Ridge tradi- 
tions. 

On the night of the loth the 80th was relieved by the 5th, a regu- 
lar division, but inexperienced, commanded then by Major General 
John E. McMahon, and later by Major General Hanson E. Ely. The 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 545 

80th passed on to its successor a legacy which requires no further 
comment. What they called "dispersion" happened to the 5th in its 
charges against the Pultiere and Rappes Wood; that is, the men, 
bunched in the open, scattered, lost their way in the woods, and failed 
to use their gas masks and to take care of themselves generally, with 
resulting casualties and sickness which depleted their effectiveness. 
When Ely took command on the i6th the rifle strength of the divis- 
ion was reduced to a little less than one-quarter of the full strength. 
Ely was a smiling man weighing 200 pounds and tall in proportion, 
who had been long fighting in France, and he had, moreover, kindly 
blue eyes and a square jaw with which to remedy the situation in the 
5th, tactically, physically, psychologically, and in all other ways. 

Neither he or any other leader who was on the west bank of the 
Meuse could check the shell fire from the east bank. From the heights 
there the Germans had observation of all our roads. W^hen the 80th 
was assembling for an attack on the loth its officers thought that 
it was out of view; but the German observers from the crests across 
the Meuse were watching the process with the satisfaction of a cat 
playing with a mouse, and in good time sent over a hail of shells, 
with murderous results, into our formations. 

As our right swung in its attacks toward the Romagne positions of 
the whaleback from the trough of the Meuse, the men faced artillery 
fire from Romagne in front and from the left flank, while from across 
the river they received artillery fire in the right flank and sometimes 
in the rear. The German observers on the Romagne and the Meuse 
crests kept each other informed of the movements within their vision, 
and plotted them on the map for each other's guns. They were hav- 
ing a joyous time, the kind they had in mind that they made sure of 
holding the Romagne heights in their retreat from the Marne. In- 
cidentally, the shells from across the Meuse included, with gas and 
usual variety of calibers, many of big caliber from long-range artillery. 

GAS AND MACHINE GUNS 

So our men in the valley of the Aire did not have a monopoly of the 
hell of the Meuse-Argonne battle. The hell was pretty well distri- 
buted all the way to the Meuse. The 17th French Corps, which had 
the mission of protecting our Meuse flank, lacked the forces neces- 
sary, and we had to send assistance. On October 8 our 33d Division 
crossed the river, and this and our 26th and 29th Divisions were to 
fight for the heights which hampered our main offensive. They had 
a long struggle against strong prepared positions which I shall de- 
scribe in the course of the next article. 

There is a certain likeness and monotony in the records of the divi- 
sions which I have given, but each division (when up to strength) 



546 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

represented 27,000 men, and each saw the battle as its own. The 
battle was monotonous to each man of the 27,000 only in the sense 
that a jumping toothache is monotonous. 

A thousand pictures of that battle crowd my recollection, and each 
is suggestive of a thousand thoughts. In weapons it was particularly 
a battle of gas and machine guns. Gas was used abundantly by 
both sides to saturates the woods, where its poison lingers after it 
has evaporated from open ground. You had gas always in mind 
when you were at the front; and of all the equipment which man has 
ever had to carry in battle none was ever more important or more of 
a nuisance than a gas mask. You were always listening, too, for the 
crack of machine-gun bullets ; and as, at their sound, you took to cov- 
er uttering the customar}^ prayer, sometimes with a brimstone ac- 
companiment, you wondered if you might not still be visible to some 
hidden gunner or sniper. Any one who knew where to go and how 
might go far with relatively small risk; the inexperienced might go 
only a short distance before walking straight into death. You won- 
dered too at the good luck which let some men off unscathed after 
months of exposure and at the bad luck which caught others the first 
time that they were under fire. 

OUR YOUNG WILL 

Men who are gassed usually recover. In open warfare the whole 
body is exposed to machine-gun bullets. This explains why in the 
casualty lists which I have given the percentage of killed to wounded 
is frequently only i to 8, 9, or 10, whereas in the old days of trench 
warfare, when a man exposed only his head above the. parapet of a 
trench to a bullet wound which was usually fatal, or he was hit by a 
fragment of a high-explosive shell, or blown to pieces by its burst, 
the percentage was I in 3 and even i in 2. But all the wounded, the 
sick, and the footsore, with ashen faces and sunken eyes, as well as 
the men caught in the epidemic of influenza, which made serious rav- 
ages, whether borne back in litters or hobbling along the road, were 
out of action for the time being. 

To me the battle recalled the Somme and Passchendaele; and I 
feared that it might end with us pinioned on the threshold of the 
heights which we had sought to gain in the welter of blood and mud 
all winter, with the enemy looking down upon us, as had happened to 
other offensives. When I think of the battle concretely and try to 
resolve all the pictures of recollection into simple factors the words 
will, drive, endurance, and power appear. We were tried in these as 
we had not been tried since the Civil War, and as one hopes that we 
may never be tried again, while without being tried we shall retain 
the requisite qualities for standing the test of such a trial. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 547 

It was our will — our young- will — to gain the victory grinding on 
the German will, worn and desperate with its back against the wall in 
skillful defense; the will of hundreds of thousands of men of a young 
army strengthened by the will of the commander in chief, who was in 
the room of the town hall of the little town of Souilly — upstairs and 
first door on the left — where Petain held council over his maps in 
the defense of Verdun. Pershing might sufifer acutely as any indi- 
vidual, but any hesitation must mean heavier losses in the end. 

The will to drive and keep driving, driving, however tired of mind 
or body — the driving of Jackson on his marches and in his attacks 
afterward, of Grant on the way to Appomattox, of Sherman to the 
sea, of the Argonauts of '49, of the contractor cutting a tunnel 
through a mountain on a time contract ! No one realized until his 
warning came how cumulative was the strain on heart and nerves. 
Any commanding officer had the authority to relieve any officer under 
him in the course of action. It was exercised frequently — sometimes 
too ruthlessly, no doubt, sometimes unwisely. 

"I found Major not far forward enough in person to direct 

his battalion, and immediately relieved him and put Captain 

in command," as one colonel wrote in his report. In such instances 
which were rare, a stigma might attach to being "canned," as we call 
it in our army, or "degummed," as it was called in the British. In 
many instances it meant only that his superior saw what others saw 
and the officer could not see himself — that he must soon collapse. 

Even when an officer was staggering and inarticulate from fatigue, 
and the orders which he gave showed that he had lost his grip of his 
duties, he would straighten up and insist that he was all right, with the 
fear in his heart that he might be sent to the rear. Again, commanding . 
officers, who were themselves at the breaking" point, lost their self- 
control and vented their temper by relieving a subordinate. Major 
generals were among those who broke down and who were sent away 
to rest. One never was certain what officer might not crack or what 
one might prove that his nerves were of steel. The thing was to give 
all that there is in you. Lieutenants from training camps and from 
West Point too, whom nature had not meant to command men, had 
leadership taken out of their hands by sergeants and corporals who 
were meant by nature to command men. In the elbowing of units 
in the attacks, in their overlapping, in the gamble of positions, in the 
uncertainties of attack and withdrawal in face of sudden blasts of fire, 
in all the business of orders given and changed and canceled in re- 
sponse to fluctuating situations, in the direction of the minute de- 
tail of compact, who was to say where justice or injustice lay in per- 
sonal claims? Success was the brutal criterion under the pressure 
for speedy victory. 



548 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

The risk of death was only an incident to the hardship of snatches 
of sleep at any hour on piles of shells, or on the wet, chill earth, or in 
dugouts or ruins, and it was the anticipation of the unexpected, the 
apprehension of some costly mistake and the stern whip of discipline 
which were wearing men down. We were proving that we had en- 
durance — such endurance as the British had shown in France and 
Flanders and the French at Verdun. 

Our men were not all heroes in the accepted terms of your imagina- 
tion. They did not all take machine-gun nests single-handed wear- 
ing flowers in their tin hats. Those who were at it never admitted 
that they liked charging machine-gun nests. Weary men do not 
rush gladly into modern battle. They go in as automatons of duty 
in response to orders, with their blood rising as they charge in the 
desire for the goal or to come to close quarters. 

BACK OF THE LINE 

We had stragglers in the Argonne, though nothing like as many as 
in the Civil War days. The doctor's knowing eye, by a glance or, if 
not, by adequate tests, sent the malingerers back into the fight. Bat- 
tle police watch the roads. There was a public opinion in the army 
on this subject — one that applied the principle of the draft to 
the hesitating. It was everybody's battle, and everybody supposed 
to be in front must be there. Yet there were rare instances when 
men would not follow an officer wherever he chose to lead; his was 
the decision, which must be made in an instant frequently, whether 
or not he might be leading them to futile sacrifice. 

We sent out from that mighty arena of the struggle of titanic forces 
weary battalions relieved from the line to miserable packed quar- 
ters in barns and ruined houses to rest. They were "deloused" and 
"Y. M. C. A.'d," and they slept and slept and slept. When they 
awoke they were still dazed from sleep. They were set to drilling 
with the replacements which had arrived to take the place of the fallen ; 
and with the replacements — weary themselves from being packed 
in railway trains from the ports and untried and unacclimatized — ■ 
came officers who knew their book of tactics but did not know their 
Argonne battle. I am not sure that anyone ever knew that battle 
or ever will. We simply kept on fig'hting that battle until it was won. 

And we sent out from that area, too, empty motor trucks and 
the stream of wounded who were passed on to waiting hospital trains 
which followed the rails across France until they ran out on spur 
tracks at one of the great hospital centers which we had built for such 
an emergency — some with 18,000 beds in one group. From that 
other world, the Service of Supply, which we called the "S. O. S.," 
we received back our empt}^ motor trucks and cars and wagons load- 
ed with shells and cartridges and our daily bread. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 549 

In the S. O. S. another army, which was no less a part of the plan 
of July, 191 7, than the combat army, was under an equal strain and 
under the hardship of missing what we were seeing at the front. All 
that it had built and organized was also put to the test of sudden 
emergency. Gray-haired officers from civil life were working hard- 
er than in all their career. Mechanics who were sticklers for trade- 
union hours put in twelve and fourteen hours a day. including Sun- 
day and Saturday. The hundreds of thousands of workers in the 
S. O. S. had only one duty and thought of only one — to answer the 
calls from the front for the material which was needed. 

Back of all this power of material and of industry was the power of 
the country at home, narrowing as it reached the base ports in a 
greater concentration, narrowing on the way across France until the 
point of the wedge of all the power was a soldier in a "fox hole," who 
wanted a hot meal at night from the rolling kitchens, that dared all 
shelled roads. 

"Yes, they are driving us and cheering us on," said one soldier, 
"from the President and the people down through the generals and 
the colonels and the kid lieutenants, right down to us humble privates 
— and we've got nobody to drive except the boche." 

THE 78TH COMES IN 

Both our veteran and new divisions had been exhausted in the first 
three weeks' fighting. Now that we had the commanding approach- 
es of the Romagne position, our next move was planned to be decisive. 

Meanwhile, bear in mind, our flank on the Meuse was still exposed 
to fire from the heights on the other side. On the left the French in 
the great movement, in which our 2d Division assisted in disengag- 
ing Rheims, had been resisted by only a rear-guard action in their ad- 
vance to the Aisne after the Eiritish had broken the Hindenburg Line. 
They were not facing the Burgogne Forest and the heights of Grand 
Pre. Ludendorff must still hold the Bourgogne Forest and the 
heights of Grand Pre and the whaleback of Buzancy if he were to 
protect his flank. On October 16 McRae's 7Sth National Army Di- 
vision relieved the 77th. It was not to have its baptism of fire in 
this battle in any charge in the open, but against the keystone of 
the enemy's positions for the moment. The 77th had occupied only 
a few houses in Grand Pre, which is a good-sized town lying against 
a bluff, and the 78th had to clean up the town, house by house. Above 
the town was the "citadel," and beyond that three formidable hills. 
Storming the citadel was like storming an ancient battlement defend- 
ed by modern bombers. Only two or three men could scale it at any 
possible point of approach not swept by machine-gun fire. The French 
joined with the 78th in the first attempt on the hills, and both Allies 



550 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

had to fall back after they had gained a footing. But, finally, the 
78th got the hills and the citadel. It did not have such good fortune 
against the Loges Wood, where it persisted in five days of unbroken 
effort under baffling interlocking machine-gun fire at every point. 
Then, although the corps commander ordered a halt, the men wanted 
to go on. They might be beaten back out of the Loges, but they did 
not want any order that they were to make no further effort for 
it. They could well afford to wait on the great attack which was 
originally set for October 28, only to be postponed by the High Com- 
mand until November i. 

Verdun Front 

Written by Wm. F. Marquardt of Storm Lake, a private in Com- 
pany A, One Hundred Second Regiment, Twenty-sixth Division. 

October 22d we moved into the city of Verdun in support of the 
One Hundred First Regiment, who were in the first line. We were 
billeted in the ruined buildings of the city and were under continual 
shell fire. Verdun was entirely in ruins. I do not believe there was 
a building there which had not been hit. We moved October 27th 
onto the front about ten miles north of Verdun into an old line of 
trenches. At 6 a.m. on the 29th, A, B, C, and D companies attacked 
a hill about three-fourths of a mile in front of us where a German 
trench was located. We made the top of the hill, but were forced to 
go back to our trench becavise of machine gun fire. About 4 p.m. 
we attacked again, and in a fight of an hour and a half again reached 
the top of the hill, this time being able to hold it. We captured a 
few prisoners and a few machine guns. Out of 200 in our company 
only 38 were left. 

This was the last hill necessary to be taken to get the fighting 
into open country in this part of the line. I saw twelve French tanks 
at one side waiting to go in as soon as we captured the hill and re- 
moved that source of fire. The hill was too rough for the tanks to 
move over it. 

Before breakfast, on the morning of the 30th, we were relieved and 
sent a short way back. Here we dug holes to drop into and I laid 
there all of the 30th and until the evening of the 31st, when a mustard 
gas shell alighted too close. Some of it went to my lungs, while mv 
body was even more affected. These burns from this gas kept me in 
the hospital three months. This covers the action in which George 
H. Martz, Company I, One Hundred Second Regiment, was killed 
October 28th. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 551 

'Aiding Communication 

In the following, Glenn H. Doty of Newell, a member of the Three 
Hundred Seventh Field Signal Battalion, Eighty-second Division, 
tells : 

About September 20th, our signal battalion left the St. Mihiel sec- 
tor, traveling in trucks to the woods in the rear of Clermont-en-Ar- 
gonne. After staying there about a week we moved to the town of 
Varennes to help the One Flundred Third Field Signal Battalion of 
the Twenty-eighth Division. The rest of the Eighty-second Divis- 
ion was in the woods that we had left. The signal corps always goes 
right into a sector in advance of the rest of the division, then they 
are acquainted with the telephone lines and stations when the divis- 
ion takes over the sector. Varennes had been in the hands of the 
enemy until the Twenty-eighth Division drove them out. The town 
was built upon a hill, from which one could see for miles in every di- 
rection. 

At this time the enemy was at Apremont, putting up a stiff resist- 
ance. The next morning, with the aid of the light tanks and artil- 
lery, we took and held the town. A part of the Three Hundred 
Seventh Engineers, Eighty-second Division, was in this fight. 

At Apremont 'we helped straighten out the tangle of telephone 
wires. The men following the infantry do not have time to put up 
these wires as they should be. Almost all of the wires were lying on 
the ground and in the streets, where trucks and wagons could run 
over them. We were here about three days until our battalion head- 
quarters were moved to La Forge farm. It was here that our bat- 
talion took over all the signal corps work in that sector. 

The next day I was put into a detail that took over an advance 
station at Apremont. The Germans must have left in a hurry, for 
there were all kinds of German helmets, packs, pistols, and belts lying 
around. 

We established the station in a dugout and started to straighten 
that awful tangle of wires. Our work here was the same as at 
Varennes. In one place a tank had run into a shell hole and carried 
all of the telephone wires with it. After a while we moved to Cornay. 
By this time our whole division was in the lines.' They had a tough 
fight before they succeeded in taking this town. It looked the 
part, too. Guns and all kinds of equipment were lying around. The 
Germans were kind enough to have a well-stocked commissary and 
we lived high while we were at Cornay. Our station was used as a 
relay station. The object of a relay station is to shorten the length 
of lines that one detail of men are to maintain. Cornay is about half 
way between the towns of Chatel and Fleville, which are about six 



552 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

kilos apart. It is almost impossible for a few men to keep up all of 
the lines for that distance. We had a small switchboard at this 
station. It is the duty of the switchboard operator to test out 
the lines every fifteen minutes. If a line was out, two men would be 
sent out to repair it — if one man did not get through the other prob- 
abl}' would. If there was no shelling only one man would be sent. 

When the Germans were in this town they had put a heavy gun in 
one of the houses and fired it through a window. When the Ameri- 
cans took the town they captured this gun. The Yanks reversed it, 
pointed it out the opposite window and gave the Germans a taste of 
German shells fired from a German gun. 

After five or six days here we moved to an old chateau. I believe 
it was called Cheherry farm. This time I was put in the wire-cart 
detail. These carts, with two spools of wire upon them, are drawn 
by two horses. The wire can be unwound as fast as a horse can 
walk; and it is tied to trees, poles, or buildings by the two linemen 
that are with each cart, which is more rapid than unwinding it by 
hand. 

I worked with the wire carts and then was sent to division head- 
([uarters to help repair telephones which, while used as test sets, be- 
came covered with mud and water. They would be useless until 
they had been cleaned and dried. Between mud, rain, and breakage, 
it kept two men busy repairing telephones. This was too easy to 
last long. On October 17th I was sent as a switchboard operator to 
a relay station located near Sommerance, about a mile from our lines. 
It was a hot place for sure, with the Germans shelling the place day 
and night. All went well until the afternoon of October 20th. Our 
company commander, Captain Busch of Sioux City, came to our sta- 
tion with a detail of men who were stringing a new line from a sta- 
tion on our right to brigade headciuarters. It was about 3 o'clock 
when they stopped to cut the new line through our switchboard. 
The captain had cut the line in and received the "O.K." when some- 
thing real happened. I can remember seeing a bright red flash and 
hearing the report of the shell ; then ever3'thing was black. During 
the fraction of a second I had time to think: "Am I hit?" and "Will 
I get through all right?" Upon regaining consciousness I found 
that an eight-inch shell had hit the corner of the building directly 
above the switchboard and about ten feet from where I had been sit- 
ting. Not a thing was left of the switchboard or the wires running 
into it. The captain and a number of others had been struck with 
pieces of the shell. I had been hit in the face but did not know at 
that time that the shrapnel had entered at my left eye and was lodged 
in the roof of my mouth. Of course, my main thought was to get to 
a dressing-station. A stretcher-bearer directed me. My eye was 
dressed and I was put in a dugout. That night I was taken to Evac- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISJ" \ COUNTY 553 

nation Hospital No. 10, where I was operated upon. That was the 
end of my signal corps work, and also the end of the war as far as I 
was concerned. My only regret is that I went through this engage- 
ment and did not get a shot at a German. A signal corps man is a 
non-combatant. 

In the Champaign 

Chris S. Jorgusen writes: 

In the Champaign we started early in the morning of October 
3d. Our company was right in the front line. We had advanced 
.only a short distance when the enemy opened fire on us and began 
throwing hand grenades. They should not have started such tac- 
tics, for I am sure that not a man of them could have gotten out alive 
from our return fire. 

We kept on advancing, taking everything before us ; if they would- 
n't meet us with their hands in the air they went to another world. 
We advanced until some time that afternoon, when we took a posi- 
tion in the enemy's trenches. Then we were called back and took po- 
sition in reserve. During the whole week that we remained here 
the enemy was putting shells over constantly day and night, the shells 
following us until we got clear out of their range. According to 
my opinion, the Champagne battle was as fierce as Soissons and the 
Argonne, and compared with St. Mihiel. But I would like to see a 
place that the Second Division could not go through. 

The Argonne 

Written by Aage G. Eskildsen, Company C, Three Hundred Fifty- 
seventh Infantry, Ninetieth Division. 

On September 27th, we went back to rest camp for four or five days 
and got the first clean clothes we had had since we began fighting. On 
October loth we started at 10 p.m. for a march of twenty miles, to 
arrive at Martincourt at 7 a.m. of the nth. After a rest through the 
day, and dinner, orders were given to start on another march of twen- 
ty miles to a large timbered tract near a French rest camp, but French 
soldiers were there first, so our captain took us out to the wood and 
told us to roll in. It was pouring down rain as it always is; and the 
mud was almost a foot deep — and there was our bed — just roll up 
in a blanket, still in our wet clothes. With rain coming down from 
above and h'ing in mud we slept a good, sound, peaceful sleep and 
never dreamed sweeter dreams at home in a bed. They let us sleep 
until 6, or until we were so cold we awoke. At noon we started to 
hike twelve miles to a village further on, where we slept that night in 



554 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

a hay-loft of a barn over the cows, but that old hay was like a feather 
tick to us. 

At 4 o'clock, October 13th, we were called to find our breakfast in 
the dark — no lights allowed. By 8 o'clock we were ready to start 
in big- trucks for the Verdun front, a distance of eighty miles, riding 
with as many crowded in the truck as possible. After riding all day 
Sunday we dismounted from the trucks to hike until 2 a.m. when we 
reached a small camp at which we remained until the 21st. Then we 
were sent out to support a position ; on the 22d we went up within six 
miles of the front. All the time from the 13th until now there was 
talk of peace. On October 23d we again went over the top and in 
this drive the captain and several of the privates were gassed. When 
we again went over the top on the 24th, and just as we stopped to dig 
ourselves in, shrapnel fell behind me and a piece entering my right 
shoulder made a gash about six inches long. Some of my comrades 
helped me to a shell hole and after two hours I was able to walk to 
the first-aid station. All the time I was in the several hospitals I had 
as good care as I could want. 

Commends Fifth Army Corps 

Under date of October 26, 1918, Major General Charles P. Summer- 
all, writing from headquarters of the Fifth Army Corps, compliment- 
ed the Eighty-fourth Infantry Brigade, consisting of the One Hun- 
dred Sixty-seventh and the One Hundred Sixty-eighth regiments, as 
follows : 

This brigade, under the command of Brigadier General Douglas 
MaCx'Yrthur, has manifested the highest soldierly qualities and has 
rendered services of the greatest value during the present operations. 
With a dash, courage, and a fighting spirit worthy of the best tradi- 
tions of the American army, this brigade carried by assault the strong- 
ly fortified Hill 288 on the Kriemhilde Stellung and unceasingly 
pressed its advance until it had captured the Tuilerie Ferme and the 
Bois de Chatillon, thus placing itself at least a kilometer beyond the 
enemy's strong line of resistance. During this advance the enemy 
fought with unusual determination with a first class division and in 
many cases resorted to hand to hand fighting when our troops ap- 
proached his rear. The conduct of this brigade has reflected honor 
upon the division, the army and the states from which the regiments 
came. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 555 

America's Greatest Battle 

Part III of Frederick Palmer's account of the Meuse-Argonne 
offensive in Collier's Weekly. 

In those decisive months of September and October General Petain 
was calling- for our divisions with the French; and Marshal Haig 
was calling for them with the British. General Mangin, who had 
had our ist and 2d Divisions in his drive toward Soissons in July 
and the 32d at Juvigny in August, said that if we could not send him 
a division he would welcome a regiment, as the very presence of 
American troops in his command had a vitalizing efifect on his troops. 

Meanwhile we needed every one of our divisions for the Argonne 
offensive. It was for Marshal Foch, as supreme commander, to 
decide whether or not some of them were even more needed elsewhere, 
in the development of his strategy which seemed to take into consider- 
ation the value of our vigorous rushes in breaking through old front- 
line positions. Even the facility of his rapid combination, which were 
hard on shoe leather and rolling stock, could not have a division in 
two places at once; but at times it seemed to some of the soldiers as 
if the High Command were trying to achieve that impossibility. As 
we came from a country of great distances, the marshal apparently 
thought that we liked to travel. Movements which were then neces- 
sarily shrouded in the strictest secrecy, in order to safeguard our aim 
of surprising the Germans with sudden blows, are now revealed as 
the processes of a masterly plan. 

GETTING INTO THE OPEN 

Consider the sequence of events in conquering the trench systems. 
On September 26 we had attacked in the Meuse-Argonne in conjunc- 
tion with the Fourth French Army west of the Argonne Forest. On 
September 29 the British went against the Hindenburg Line to 
clean up the last of the old front line in their sector, and on October 
2d the French attacked to clean up the last of it in the neighborhood 
of Rheims. The Germans resisted these operations strongly and 
with a certain success at the outset, which, taken in connection with 
the slowing down of our First Army's and the Fourth French Army's 
offensive, it is said, encouraged Ludendorff in the belief that German 
tactics were still supreme and that he could successfully withdraw 
his army; but all he had was a little breathing spell. Each of these 
actions which finally freed the Allied armies from the shackles of the 
trenches for mobile operations, and committed the Germans to open 
warfare, influenced the others. In the first we played the major 
part; in the other two our detached divisions played a part which I 



556 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

should like to describe at length, and which I may mention because of 
their relations to the Argonne battle. 

Of the ten divisions assigned to the British army after it fought 
with its back to the wall against the March and April offensive, Mar- 
shal Foch had withdrawn all but two for the defense of Paris and 
the counteroffensives of the Chateau-Thierry operations, and then 
passed them on, according to plan, to our own army. On September 
26 these two, O'Ryan's 27th, New York National Guard, and Lewis's 
30th, or Old Hickory Division of the National Guard from our South- 
ern mountain States, forming our Second Corps, under Major Gener- 
al George W. Read, attacked the Hindenburg Line at one of its 
strongest points where the Saint-Quentin Canal runs in a tunnel 
through a ridge. The 30th, with the easier going of the two, won all 
its objectives handily; the 27th, against positions which were impreg- 
nable by every rule of natural and artificial defenses, with its flank 
exposed, its communications cut by shell fire, fought a battle of com- 
pany, platoon, squad, and individual heroism which was an immortal 
tribute to its manhood ; and the Australians, with a gallantry in keep- 
ing with their record, finished a task which our men could not com- 
plete. 

VETERANS AND TRNDERFEET 

Our 2d Division, one of our two "best" veteran divisions, attacked 
on October 2 east of Rheims against the famous and infamous Cham- 
pagne defenses. It was a wonderful action of the same order as the 
1st Division's drive of the wedge across the heights of the Aire in 
the critical juncture of the Argonne battle. With the same veteran 
precision as the ist the men of the 2d kept their formations; with the 
same spirit they "drove through." 

When the operation was finished the Germans had fired their last 
shot -into Rheims. The 2d was relieved by the 36th, Smith's hardy 
and stalwart National Guard of Texas and Oklahoma, which had 
never heard a hostile shot fired until its line was subjected to a sudden 
tornado of a prolonged German bombardment of the kind which mili- 
tary sagacity had been wont to prepare troops by gradual stages of 
"fire endurance." The men of the 36th were in the open; they had 
to "dig in." But they dug in where they were, not to the rear. They 
were not demoralized, though it took a little time for them to reor- 
ganize for an effective attack, and there was no thought of anything 
except attack, in answer to that outburst which the Germans, in their 
spleen, doubtless enjoyed visiting upon a new division. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 557 

"what are they there for, anyway?" 

What a contrast between these two divisions ! The 2d, with all its 
equipment complete, all its veteran units, artillery, machine gunners, 
trench mortars, and hospitals, working s}^stematically, crowning its 
achievements with one of singular skill ! The 36th, tenderfeet on the 
front, with incomplete equipment, depending on alien artillery, al- 
together inexperienced but stoically meeting the test which was sup- 
posed to throw fresh troops into a panic ! 

Afterward the 36th hurried along with the French pursuing the 
Germans to the Aisne ; for by the middle of October the German army 
from the Argonne Forest to the sea was feeling the Allied tidal wave 
in full flood and its operations were those of rear-guard action, which 
was persistently resourceful in the use of machine guns and artillery. 
From the Argonne to the Meuse, where our First Army was fighting 
for the Kriemhilde Stellung, as I wrote in my second article, Luden- 
dorfl: had no less reason for desperate resistance now than before to 
keep us from closing the door of his retreat; while across the Meuse 
back of Verdun, he had all the more reason for tenacity. I have 
described how the Argonne battle was a fight for the whaleback of 
heights with the Aire River forming a trough on one side and the 
Meuse River on the other; and how on the Meuse side the German 
artillery from the heights on the other side of the river played upon 
our Third Corps on one flank while that from the heights of the 
whaleback played upon the other. Until those heights across the 
Meuse were mastered the Argonne operation itself was in jeopardy; 
and the Seventeenth French Corps across the river wanted American 
divisions for the task. These included Bell's 33d Division of Nation- 
al Guardsmen on our extreme right. 

The Illinois men of the 33d were not only good soldiers but thrifty 
ones. On the first day of the Argonne they had captured eighteen 
guns (or cannon, as some people still call them), a narrow-guage 
railway, and 1,450 prisoners, with a loss of only thirty-six killed and 
207 wounded and no missing. No farther advance was expected of 
them as a part of our army. They were in a picturesque position 
beyond Le Mort Homme or Dead Man's Hill, where the French and 
Germans had struggled in the Verdun battle days, and they were 
patrolling the river bank to keep any German counter-attack from 
crossing. Without even telling the Third Corps staff about it, they 
had built their own road over the shell craters of Le Mort Homme, 
which made them perfectly independent and snug on their job. 

On October 4 they were transferred back to the Seventeenth French 
Corps, which meant that they were to cross the Meuse as soon as the 
French had cleared the bank opposite them to give them a footing. 



558 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

On the heights across the river the Germans had plenty of artillery 
to bring to bear at any point they chose along the river on the 33d's 
front. It is a mystery to me still how the 33d's men spanned the 
Meuse with such slight losses. I think that it was because they ap- 
proached the task as part of the day's work. They had together the 
material for their bridges at Brabant and Consenvoye in sight of the 
Germans, and had to build them under unceasing shell fire while they 
wore their gas masks. That at Consenvoye took five and a half hours 
and according to the report there were ninety shells a minute falling. 
I did not envy the work of the man who had to do the counting. 

Both bridges were up on time, and the infantry under cover of the 
Forges Wood waited for the French to give the cue. In the middle 
of the morning, under full observation, while the 33d's artillery was 
raining shells on the other bank to cover their crossing, they started 
over the bridge. By nightfall one regiment was on the other bank 
and digging in on the southern side of the Chaumes Wood. 

The next thing was to go for the heights, which brings us to as bit- 
ter, savage fighting as any in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, involving 
three other American divisions in a battle which was a battle by itself, 
fought on the edge of the old Verdun battle field in the cold autumn 
rains under conditions such as the French endured in 1916. It was 
more thankless for these divisions than being in the Argonne. They 
did not have the center of the stage. If they succeeded, their opera- 
tions would be considered subsidiary to that of our niain army. If 
they failed, then their comrades in the Argonne battle would be say- 
ing: "Why the devil don't those fellows clear out the artillery that 
is shooting us in the back? What are they there for anyway?" For 
that is the way divisions think of their neighbors in the press of battle 
when they see only their own troubles, without considering that other 
divisions may have even worse troubles than they. 

The Germans had still another reason for holding this system of 
heights than having a vantage point for pounding our advance on the 
heights of the whaleback. It vitally concerned their second line of 
defense, where they were supposed to make their stand on a shorter 
line in Ludendorft''s reported plan. \\'ith the hills of the Meuse and 
the hills around Verdun lost, the plain of the Woevre was completely 
open: the American army would begin its spring campaign of 1919 
on German soil. 

Thus the positions on the east bank of the Meuse were the rivets 
in the flange of the hinge of the door. With them taken, we had not 
merely swung the door open; we had burst it open. The Germans 
were defending positions whose character they knew as you may nev- 
er know it from map studies — through feeing out every square yard 
of it in the Verdun battle. At their backs were all their tried gun 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 559 

positions, all the barrack buildings for quarters, all the roads which 
were prepared for the assembly of material for the gigantic Verdun 
offensive. 

MARSHAL FOCH, DIRECTOR 

At our backs was the wreckage of village and broken roads which 
would have to be rebuilt through No Man's Land; and the ground 
was against us at every turn of our advance. Any attempt to clear 
those heights of German observers, who mapped our movements on 
the west bank of the Meuse to artillery securely out of reach of our 
guns, was an assignment of the kind that has built many new ceme- 
teries on the battle fields of the western front. Yet the effort was 
obviously necessary. No one could criticize the wisdom of the French 
plan. Succeed or fail, the effort must be made; and there could not 
be complete failure. Every shell fired on the east bank of the Meuse 
was drawing one from the west bank. Every German killed or 
wounded or exhausted was one kept out of the Argonne battle, and 
of all the actions Marshal Foch was director. 

Morton's 29th Division, "Blue and Gray," National Guard from 
New Jersey, which had come from the quiet sector of the Vosges, 
where a few shells daily broke the monotony in deep trenches, came, 
as the other new divisions had come, in these months of September 
and October, to endure such a mortal test as that of the Etrayes, the 
Plat du Chene, Belleu, and Ormont Woods. The Jersey men were on 
the scene of one of the greatest battles of all time. They were compan- 
ions of Frenchmen who had been in that battle; while their own 
countrymen across the river were calling them to do their utmost. 

They were expected on that first day of October 8 to carry the 
great Malbrouck Hill, to go through to MoUeville Farm, and this 
they did. They were expected, too, to take the Grand Montague 
Ridge and the Etrayes Ridge, which in one drive would have given 
them the German positions which harassed us on the other side of the 
river, and this they could not do. 

Through ravines and woods, up the slopes and down again, the 29th 
gained three miles after an attack which was made without any artil- 
lery preparation, in order that it should be a surprise — as it was, in 
that the German guns did not become active for twenty minutes. By 
this time they had a full realization of the danger that threatened 
their positions. 

The next day the 33d, with its left on the river bank, got through 
the Chaumes Wood, but its right extended into that region of woods 
and ravines where the Germans were prepared for desperate resist- 
ance against the 29th. French and Americans had met the kind of 
opposition which for four years had kept the line of the western front 
unbroken. They had to form up their fine of resistance, bring in 



56o HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

patrols which were too far forward, and then attack, and attack and 
attack, and defend themselves from counter-attacks for days and 
weeks. The Austrians and other weaker troops against them were 
now replaced by Prussians and Wurttembergers, who had the con- 
fidence of their strong defenses and a sentimental feeling that they 
would not 3deld ground which had been theirs throughout the battle 
of Verdun. 

TURNING THE KEY 

Our movement here was much like that in the main battle, a swing 
in from the river bank toward the high ground, fighting from the 
trough of fire of the roads, under full observation of the enemy artil- 
lery, uphill at every point in tortuous ground. Death Valley is a 
memory that will never be efifaced in the mind of any man who ever 
had to run its gamut of gas and shells. 

Working in a bowl as we were, our line was necessarily in a dis- 
advantageous semicircle looking up to the rim. On the northern 
rim, the left, the side toward the river, the forest heights of Mon- 
tague and Etrayes surmounted the rim, with the Pylon Observatory the 
supreme goal ; and on the other side, toward the plain of the Woevre, 
covering the road in this direction, was the Haumont Wood; and then, 
farther up, the commanding little Ormont Wood; and beyond that, on 
the other side of the road, just where the road passed over the ridge 
was the Belleu Wood. They were key woods — Ormont and Belleu. 
With both taken, you looked out on the valley of Damvillers, and you 
had the Montagne-Etrayes positions in flank. The hills on the other 
side of the valley of Damvillers were the last barrier to the open 
sweep of the great plain to German soil. 

There was no describing the defenses as first, second, third, and 
fourth lines. They were continuous, beginning at the edge of a 
wood and at the bottom of a slope and utilizing every thicket, every 
twist of a ravine all the way to the crests. Concrete pill boxes and 
trenches roofed with logs, which the Germans had built in other days, 
were used as the strong points in linking up the system of machine- 
gun emplacements in open warfare. Each vantage point had been 
carefully studied in its relations to all others in full knowledge of how 
limited was our area of effort. Any tactical surprise was out of the 
question except through unexpected vigor of attack. 

Of course the way to get Ormont Wood was to encircle it ; and the 
29th gained a foothold in the edge of it and was part way around it 
when the Germans answered our success by counter-attacks which had 
the ardor of the early days of the war. The 29th counter-attacked 
in turn and held some of the gains — held them in precarious fox 
holes in the midst of brush and seeping earth where to raise the head 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 561 

was to receive a spray of machine-gun fire. In another effort we 
reached the Grande Montagne Wood and once more were in MoUe- 
ville Farm, but the interlocking fire from the ridges left the balance 
against us. The thing was either to "go through" or else not to put 
yourself in a position where the enemy simply wore you down. 

ACCORDING TO TRADITION 

On October 27 Edward's 26th, the Yankee Division of New Eng- 
land's National Guard, came in to relieve a French division. General 
Edwards, who had been exhausted by his long service, had to yield 
command on the 24th to General Bamford. The 26th was as veteran 
as the 32d and 42d. From the time it had had its first trench ser- 
vice in the Chemin des Dames on through the ghastly Toul sector, 
through the operations of Chateau-Thierry, and finally in its swift 
march cutting the Saint-Mihiel salient, it had had all the varied ser- 
vice that could fall to any division, and now it was to finish its career 
in France with an experience which drew on the character associated 
with New England's "stern and rock-bound coast" traditions to the 
full. 

Its veteran artillery joined the veteran artillery of the French in a 
preparation for an attack on the morning of the 23d which gave the 
ofifensive in the battle something approaching the gun power of the 
defensive. How the men would have welcomed a straight-on drive 
on a clean frontal line instead of this irregular front of ravines, hills, 
cups, and woods with its baffling intricacy! The 26th gained its ob- 
jective in the Molleville Farm and converged on the Etrayes Ridge 
as its part in the operation with the 29th on its right; and a second 
battalion, leapfrogging the attacking battalion, went through the im- 
important little Belleu Wood which commanded the valley beyond. 
This was a dagger thrust into the very heart of the German defenses. 
That night the German guns from all directions turned on high ex- 
plosives, shrapnel, and gas on this small area, where not a square 
yard was uncovered by the hail of death. Then there was a mis- 
understanding of orders, it is said; at least, the men, many of them 
protesting, were withdrawn. 

The 26th was not discouraged. Its temper was up now. With all 
its strength, freshened by its rest before going into line, it forced the 
fighting all day and all night of the 24th, while the German artillery 
raged with increased fury. Again the 26th penetrated the Belleu 
Wood — and held there against three enemy counter-attacks, each 
coming on with fresh reserves, and finally, while the enemy was pound- 
ing all the roads and laying barrages against our reserves, the New 
Englanders, outnumbered, gassed, and exhausted, had to yield the 



562 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

five hundred yards which they had won to a fourth counter-attack. It 
was bitter hard luck. 

THROUGH DEATH VALLEY 

A night of re-forming in the ravines where cover could be found; 
another call for the artillery to clear the way, and not waiting for 
dawn this time, but in the dead of night at 2:30 a.m., while the light 
of the bursting shells flashed, the figures of friend and foe in rehef — 
out of the darkness the men of the 26th again won possession of a 
large part of the wood, though not that on the crest of the ridge. On 
the afternoon of the same day, still forcing the issue, they tried for 
the wooded bastion of Ormont. They were met with blasts from the 
artillery and trench mortars and enfilading machine-gun fire, and, 
taking profit from what they had learned, they re-attacked the next 
day and gained the Ormont summit, but it was not in human flesh to 
retain it in face of the reception which they received. Two days' 
"rest" followed — rest in the midst of gassed woods under machine- 
gun fire and in the troughs of fire. Then they tried again and made 
their footing stronger in the Belleu, but they could not take Ormont. 
The Germans could not afford to yield the mastery of those two key 
positions, Ormont and Belleu. 

On the night of the 28th-30th the 29th Division, with the faces of 
the men as gray from fatigue as the reeking moist fresh shell craters 
by the roadside marched down the trough of Death Valley for the 
last time, and in their place had come the men of Kuhn's 79th Divis- 
ion, which had had its baptism of fire breaking the first Hne in the Ar- 
gonne battle. The persistent work of the 26th, 29th, and 33d on the 
east bank of the Meuse was having the same effect as that of the 
divisions in the main battle — of breaking the enemy's will. Fresh- 
ened by its rest, having digested its lessons of the Argonne, the 79th 
came into the arena at the time when we were making the final rush 
in the Meuse-Argonne battle. East or west of the Meuse, we were 
on the slooes of the last of the heights. Much was expected of the 
79th, and it was to do much. When it took over the treacherous line 
of the Molleville Farm sector it brought against the German posi- 
tions of the Montagne and Etrayes Forests the same energy that the 
29th had shown in its first advance. When it had cleared the wooded 
valley of the Damvillers road it was before that high, bald knob, the 
Borne de Cornevillers, which the soldiers called "Cold Corned Willie." 
The approach to the crest was over a smooth rise against trenches, 
with machine-gun nests in the woods sweeping across the line of 
advance. In three days of repeated bull-hearted attacks the men of 
the 79th stuck to their mission until they had cleared the woods of 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 563 

machine guns and taken the Borne, whence they looked down on the 
valley of the Meuse, as the German observers had, and along the 
roads and open spaces clear to the Roniagne positions; and they un- 
derstood now why we wanted these heights. ♦ 

THE FINAL GRAND ATTACK 

When the 79th now faced around toward the other side of the rim, 
taking over some of the front of the 26th, which side-slipped and was 
still undaunted, the scales balanced in our favor, as the Germans were 
in retreat on our main battle ground. Sending its fresh men into 
the fox holes, which the 26th had dug in the Belleu Wood, the 79th 
turned all the wrath of its artillery upon the other edge of the woods 
and the crest. We gained and held the crest in a final charge, and 
the Pylon Observatory was ours too, as we looked down on the valley 
of our desire as the next stage of progress. 

Now we turn to the final grand attack in the main battle. Our 
gunners had a glitter in their eyes on the morning of November i. 
This time we had something like enough guns. New guns were ar- 
riving throughout the battle. From every source we had drawn on 
our reserves. Our corps and army artillery had a force in keeping 
with their high-sounding importance; and they had learned their 
parts in the scheme of the shower of projectiles in a great offensive 
which General Hinds, the chief of artillery, had planned. Admiral 
Plunkett had his long-range naval guns in position; and his blue- 
jackets wanted to use them at point blank lest the navy should not be 
really at the front when it engaged in land warfare. The artillery 
of divisions whose infantry was recuperating had been kept in line. 
And all were glad to be in the line when there was to be a big party, 
which meant no piecemeal attack, but that all the guns along the 
whole line would be roaring. 

"old HANDS TO PULL YOU THROUGH" 

The barrages, which are what his shield was to the soldier of old, 
were to march ahead of our men with a prodigal hail, and the other 
guns of all calibers, with their different missions, were to pound the 
enemy's battery positions, his machine-gun nests, his new trenches, 
and all the points where he might have lightning in store to destroy 
the infantry. It is the soldier, the infantryman, the doughboy, who 
has the most appeal of course ; but a part of that appeal, blended with 
the affection and the awe we feel for him, is the joyful satisfaction of 
walking miles with guns on every hand, all firing shells to make a 
bridge for the man who takes the ground away from the enemy. I 
felt on the day before the attack, as I moved about the army, that all 



564 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

the effort, all the discipline, all the irritations, all the determination 
against all manner of obstacles, from the base ports to the front line, 
had come into being in an organization which had found itself in 
the crudest, most monstrous and exacting game that a mad world 
had ever staged. November i was a bright day in the Argonne re- 
gion, fit for the triumph which it was to bring. How you thrilled 
when, after our infantry advanced under its thunderous protection, 
there came no great reponsive chorus from the enemy's guns! It 
was the thrill of the hope that the end of the war might be near. 

The plan of the attack was to pass the center of gravity to Dick- 
man's First Corps on the left. In close reserve behind the 2d, the 
left division of Summerall's Fifth, the center corps, was the ist Divis- 
ion with its gaps refilled, ready for another great effort, and behind 
the 80th the right division of the First Corps, was the 42d or Rain- 
bow, rested after breaking the Romagne positions. The message of 
the veteran ist to the veteran 2d was the same as that of the 42d to 
the 80th: "If you get in trouble, here are some old hands to pull you 
through, and to follow through, too!" Think of the 2d, which was 
"the best" division in the army, being told that the other "best" di- 
vision in the army had any such thoughts in mind. For once we had 
the enemy going we meant to have enough fresh troops in hand to 
keep him on the move. This was one reason why we had taken time 
to prepare for the final rush. 

Alexander's 77th, which had had a rest after the Argonne Forest, 
was in line again. There was no doubting the spirit of the 77th. And 
beyond the Forest of Argonne, to the north, was the great Forest of 
Bourgogne, which might have been a part of it, being of the same 
nature, if the gap of Grand Pre had not separated the two. 

THE STUFF THAT WINS 

We did not try a frontal attack on the Bourgogne as we had on the 
Argonne. The French were to squeeze it on the west side and we 
were to sc|ueeze it on the east and by way of making the process 
easier we soaked it with Yperite gas. On the left of the First Corps 
was McRae's 78th, the Lightning Division men whom we had seen 
keeping their discipline, their grit, and still singing the song — warn- 
ing the Hun to keep down his head if he did not want to join "his 
father in the old fatherland" — which I heard them singing when I 
saw them going into the trenches for the first time on the Amiens- 
Albert road, in their storming of the "citadel" of Grand Pre and 
their efforts to take Loges Wood the men of the 78th had shown that 
they had the stuff that "keeps coming on" — the stuff that wins 
wars. They had thoroughly "Yperited" the Loges Wood on the 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 565 

morning of November i, but the Yperite did not silence the German 
machine gunners there or in the Bourgogne Forest. 

If it had, the 77th might have taken the Champigneulle sooner, 
and the First Corps, which had the hardest task and hardest fighting 
on November i, would have gone farther. Probably the German 
staff recognized the danger, for to the last the German stafif was 
masterly as the devil himself in its tactical direction of its troops, 
which still had the spirit to fight well. Be that as it may, the 78th 
got forward in the Bourgogne, and the 80th kept going, and the 
next day the Germans had retired from the Loges Wood, as well they 
might, considering what our center, the Fifth Corps, was doing. On 
November 2 we had the word that everywhere the First Corps had 
broken the enemy's resistance and struck its stride as a further item 
of the good news that thrilled us clear into our marrows. 

In the Fifth Corps was Wood's old division, the 89th, which Wright, 
a man who faced the enemy "all four-square," commanded, and the 
2d, rejuvenated after taking Blanc Mont in helping the French to 
disengage Rheims. Summerall had said that he would "go through" 
if he had a bridge of shells, and kept his word, as well as he might 
with two such divisions as the 89th and the 2d. Without any halts, 
as in a maneuver, the 2d and 89th advanced under the curtains of 
protecting fire while grovips of prisoners filtered back l^ehind the 
movement. Our artillery had done a fine piece of mowing; our in- 
fantry was doing a fine piece of gleaning. The Fifth Corps had 
made the bulge required, and rather kept the center of gravity to 
itself. The men of the 2d might not have understood what was 
meant by the center of gravity in a tactical plan, but with the ist 
tagging their heels waiting for a chance to "chip" in, they were not 
inclined to allow a center of gravity or anything else get away from 
them. 

For neighbor on his right Summerall had Hines, with the Third 
Corps. Hines, who also trained in the school of the ist, had suc- 
ceeded Bullard when Bullard was promoted to command the Second 
Army, and Liggett to command the First Army; and he was worthy 
to be Summerall's neighbor. He had as his National Army division 
the excellent 90th, worthy companion of the 89th, under "Hal" Allen. 
Although Allen's mustache is white now, he is as young in heart as 
he was on the polo fields twenty years ago. I want to add that the 
90th, which had come into line on October 23, had taken Bantheville, 
and that the 89th, too, in the preliminary operations for the final at- 
tack, had gained most important positions — both divisions now being 
classed as veteran. 

With the 90th in the Third Corps was the 5th, which had now be- 
come regular in the full sense. The Meuse bends westward, and the 
Third was tilting toward the Meuse. It gained all its objectives on 



566 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

schedule on that first day, working swiftly and efficiently, under well- 
timed artillery fire and a curtain of machine-gun bullets. 

On the morning of November 2 the German communique announced, 
for the first time in four years and more of its literary propagan- 
da for the German people and the world, that the German line had 
been broken ; and on that day our whole line made another spring for- 
ward on schedule time. The whaleback was ours. We looked down 
on the valley of the Meuse, winding toward Sedan. The survivors 
of the step-by-step advance in the Argonne had only to stretch their 
legs now. Motor trucks followed the infantry over unharmed roads 
hurrying up supplies. Other motor trucks brought the reserves. 
Civil population in villages, uninjured except by a few shells, wel- 
comed us. It was a march against a little artillery fire and some 
machine gun fire, while we gathered in the stragglers of many brok- 
en German divisions. 

CROSSING THE MEUSE CANAL 

Our movement was now becoming fan-shaped, with our rushing 
divisions on our left spreading out into the sector of the French 
Fourth Army, and the divisions on our right gradually forming their 
front on the bank of the curving Meuse. Of course the 5th, on the 
extreme right, was the first in position for a crossing. It had to 
pass over the Meuse Canal after it had passed over the river. By i 
a.m. of the 3d a patrol was across the JNIeuse, but was checked at the 
canal by machine guns, which also stopped some engineers who were 
trying to build a footbridge at dawn. At dark that night engineers 
had a footbridge over the river, but the artillery joined in Avith the 
machine guns and forced them to dig in on the bank of the canal. 
Flovvever, the evening was yet young. Two footbridges were put 
over the canal before morning, but when small columns tried to rush 
across all their efforts were swept back by well-directed blasts. 

At nine-thirty the next morning the army sent word that the cross- 
ing must be effected, as the whole movement of the army depended 
upon it. Therefore, it was not in order to wait on darkness. We must 
get to work immediately. We should try many points, and at some 
points we were bound to succeed. At Clery-le-Petit we started to 
make a bridge of pontoons, but the pontoons were smashed by shells 
as fast as they were put in the water; and, although the bridge was 
made, there was no crossing it against the hurricane of fire. A little 
later two battalions, attacking bv surprise without artillery prepara- 
tion, gained a crossing at Brieulles, and about the same time another 
battalion, the men using improvised rafts, or duckboards, poles, and 
ropes, and swimming, slipped over into the Chatillon Woods. As 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 567 

all the men were wet to the skin and the night was cold, action was 
the only means of keeping warm, and before morning they had clean- 
ed up the woods. The next thing was to master the town of Dun- 
sur-Meuse. "Take the shelling and the machine-gun fire," was the 
divisional command. "Go through Dun and then go east. Push 
things along." By midday of November 5 Dun was taken. The 
German was being given no time to rest ; and the next day the men 
of the 5th advanced four miles among the heights on the other side 
of the Meuse. 

The enterprise of the 5th had forewarned the Germans what they 
might expect from the 90th, which had farther to go than the 5th, 
and had some bad ground to clean up on the way. Meanwhile a 
regiment of the 32d had come in between the 90th and the 5th; so 
the "Arrows" were not out of the pursuit. 

MOUTH-WATERING HOUNDS 

The Germans on the bank opposite the 90th were intrenching, and 
while dropping gas shells on our bank their artillery was as quick as 
their machine gunners to concentrate their fire on our attempts at 
crossing. The 90th went through much the same experience as the 
5th. The Texans were not in a mood to be stopped by a river now that 
they had tasted pursuit, and after stifif fighting they took the town of 
Stenay on the other side on the loth and extended their advance to the 
hills beyond. 

Wright's 89th, of the Fifth Corps, in the center, was keeping up 
with the 90th, and it found, as the 90th and as the 2d, on its left, had 
found, that the Germans were continuing to cover all the approaches 
to the river with machine-gun and artillery fire. It had been the 
"race-horse" second which had captured the German officers at a card 
game, and which in one of its night marches captured an officer in 
the midst of his inspection of his machine-gun platoon preparatory 
to making a strategic retreat. All the divisions were making night 
marches, but the 2d had a particular reason for urgency on this score, 
because there was the ist in reserve pressing up for a chance — yet, 
it had the impudence to think that it might go through the 2d — to 
relieve anybody in the front line that was tired — with all the mouth- 
watering watchfulness of a hound waiting to pick up a bone if an- 
other hound dropped it. When it was decided that the 80th, which 
had been put in without svifficient time for recuperation after its ser- 
vice in the Third Corps, should be given a little rest in reserve, the 
1st, which had been thirty-six hours at a stretch on its feet, had its 
ambition — as our first division to arrive in France to be in at the 
finish — gratified. To every man of ours the sight of that valley 



568 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY" 

as he moved downhill after he had fought an uphill fight for six weeks, 
was as the sight of water calling a thirsty man in the desert. The 
little men from the tenements, in the 77th, New York's own Liberty 
Division, kept forcing themselves along under their heavy packs, for 
it is not the habit of Metropolitans to miss a parade. As the 
first National Army division to arrive in France, they had just as 
much right to be in at the finish as the ist — though, to tell the truth, 
it was not sentiment which kept a division in or took one out, but the 
tactical considerations of the moment. The 42d, pressing forward 
for an opening with all the fervor of the ist, went through McRae's 
"Jersey Lightnings" of the 78th — all honor to them and their com- 
mander : they who had shown the endurance of porpoise hide after 
their grueling attacks in the Grand Pre gap by making a fifteen-mile 
advance fighting along the edges of the Bourgogne Wood. 

"press the enemy" 

As the 42d represented twenty-six States, it would not have paid 
much attention, even if its orders had been dififerent, to army sectors 
when it was in full cry after the enemy on the way to the River 
Meuse. The report that the Rainbows had entered Sedan was due 
to a misunderstanding by one who read the Rainbow's message on the 
subject. They had entered Wadelincourt, a suburb on the other side 
of the river from Sedan. The difference was that of mistaking Jersey 
City for New York if the North River was about a sixth of its breadth. 

The French took Sedan; and that was as it should be. There was 
historical fitness in those veteran poilus, in their faded blue coats, be- 
ing the first to enter that town where a French disaster due to a 
travesty of imperial leadership had glorified the Hohenzollern and 
his army which was now broken in retreat ; and it was equally fitting 
too that the British veterans should take Mons, w'here Sir John 
French's "contemptibles" had shown how bravely men could die 
against overwhelming odds. 

The 426. side-sHpped out of the French sector. On the night of 
November 10 the 2d and the 89th Divisions accomplished their cross- 
ing of the ]\Ieuse. The next morning we continued to advance along 
our whole front on the other bank, while our Second Army in the 
Saint-Mihiel sector made an attack which was part of plans already 
made. As an army we had no orders yet except to press the enemy, 
gaining every advantage we could. We had no official word that the 
armistice would be signed. One of the most convincing reasons 
which the Germans had for signing it — and many officers thought 
that the Germans might not sign it, as they still had a large army in 
being — was the events on the Meuse during the first ten days of 
Nevember which gave us all the positions of the Meuse. On many 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 569 

occasions German peace talk had had no object apparently except to 
injure the morale of the Allied armies; and throughout the peace 
discussions of October it was not the business of the soldiers to be in- 
fluenced by it, but to go on fighting all the harder until the order to 
cease firing came. 

WHEN DREAMS COME TRUE 

Until eleven o'clock on November 1 1 the German artillery was fir- 
ing at some points where we were not attacking. Instantly the mess- 
age that an armistice was signed came from Marshal Foch's head- 
Cjuarters it was transmitted over the lines and operations were stop- 
ped as fast as units could be informed. Some small parties, working 
their way against machine-gun nests, could not be reached in time. 
Individual soldiers who were creeping forward in woods and ravines 
had to be warned in person before they stopped sniping at machine- 
gun nests which they were encircling. The 79th Division had only 
one more hill to take before it gained the great plain of the Woevre. 
When one of the advanced units received the word that the war was 
over a soldier exclaimed: "Hell! Aren't you going to let us take 
the last hill and finish the job?" The New Englanders of the 26th 
were fighting beside the 79th, adv^ancing steadily after their terrible 
days in the battle for the heights on the east bank of the Meuse. Now 
we had them all except that one hill. 

Oh, the happiness of that day of the armistice to one who had been 
four years with the war! The guns were silent — silent all the way 
from Switzerland to the sea; the grindings of the mill of hell had 
ceased. And the happiness of the succeeding days following our 
troops to the Rhine and in seeing King Albert enter Brussels, the 
British guarding the bridge at Cologne and the French in Alsace 
— dreams come true at every turn of the road in every soldier's face 
in every village ! But this is not an article of impressions. 

ALL PROVED THEMSELVES 

The Meuse-Argonne battle had been won. Our army, in the course 
of the winning, had stretched its resources to the utmost. We had 
only two fresh divisions in reserve, while the French had fourteen 
and the British seven — which I mention to show that, although we 
came into the war late, we were all in at the end. Six of our Nation- 
al Army divisions participated in the final phase. All had proved 
themselves. But whv think of the army in divisions when the gaps 
in the ranks of divisions had been filled by strangers to the localities 
from which they came? In order to have replacements we broke up 
two National Army divisions — which was a heartbreaking thing to 
do — and all the more so as the pressure on the lines of communica- 



570 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

tion required that some of the battalions should be turned into labor 
troops. 

Our hospitals were full. Our teams of surgeons, our divisional 
surgeons, our privates, our officers, all hands, were groggy with the 
kind of fatigue that one night's rest would not cure after that fearful 
six weeks' draft on their nerve energy. One does not forget the 
stretcher bearers, and least of all one does not forget the nurses. I 
mean not the women of the volunteer organizations, but the army 
nurses, the practical, trained women under army discipline who 
worked double time. They became hollow-eyed with weariness, but 
remained cheerful and smiling. In all the gatherings of veterans' 
associations they should have a place of honor. 

Trench Fighting 

Written by Conrad Anderson of Company D, Three Hundred Six- 
teenth Infantry, Seventy-ninth Division. 

We arrived at the front in the Meuse sector about 3 o'clock in the 
morning of Tuesday, October 2gth, to relieve the Twenty-sixth Divis- 
ion. Some of us were immediately sent ahead for outpost duty in 
small rifle pits ahead of the lines. These pits were small holes in the 
ground camouflaged with leaves and branches. We were three in a 
pit — there I was with one Jew and one Italian. Here we were on 
guard all day. After dark we were relieved and went back for 
twenty-four hours rest, spent in a shallow cave covered with corru- 
gated iron. In all, we were about forty men crowded into this small 
cave, which would not allow us all to lie down. The shells were fly- 
ing all around, and we had one very close call when a shell made a 
dent in the iron of our cave, though luckily it did not explode. The 
next evening we resumed our positions in the rifle pits for another 
twenty-four hours, after which we were relieved and went back about 
a kilometer for rest in dugouts which the Germans had constructed. 
These were substantially boarded up with planks and were about 
thirty-five feet in the ground. Some were provided with small stoves 
but we did not use them as the smoke would betray our positions 
and expose us to even more shell fire. 

Our position at the front was not very favorable. We were, so to 
say, in a horseshoe with Germans on three sides. Early Sunday 
morning, November 3d, the Germans sent over a heavy barrage and 
we were to take our positions in the lines to be ready for a counter- 
attack. During our removal in the night members of our company 
became mixed with other companies. We were short of candles and 
it was pitch dark in the dugouts. I was in the first platoon ordered 
out, but when we had gone a little distance I did not recognize any of 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 571 

them, and upon inquiry as to what company they belonged to I was 
dismayed to realize that I was with the wrong company. It was on 
my return that I was hit by a bursting shell. Consequently I was 
not able to move out with our own company, but remained in this 
dugout all day, together with three others who were gassed and a 
stretcher-bearer. Although we were so deep in the ground, the earth 
fairly shook when the big shells struck above us. In the evening 
we attempted to reach a first-aid station, but were compelled by heavy 
shell fire to seek refuge in another dugout for the night. The fol- 
lowing morning I reached safely the first-aid station. 

Taken Prisoner at Meuse-Argonne 

Written by Vear Nichols of Company B, Three Hundred Six- 
teenth Infantry, Seventy-ninth Division. 

On November 3d, with seven of my comrades I became separated 
from the command on the way back to the reserve lines. It was 
very dark, and that section of the Argonne in which we were fighting 
was rough in the extreme, filled with shell holes, and the forest itself 
dense and tangled beyond description. It was impossible to find 
one's way without runners or guides. Ben Kaufman of Storm Lake 
and Fred Boettcher of Grant Township were among our little party. 
After wandering about until daylight we found ourselves near an 
empty dugout, which we at once occupied. It was almost sure death 
to move about during the day, and we hoped to escape observation 
by thus hiding. About noon Boettcher and two of the other men 
made a try for the camp kitchen, in spite of the obvious risks. I do 
not know whether or not they succeeded in working through, as that 
was the last I saw of Fred. 

During the evening of the 3d we managed to get in touch with a 
runner, who guided us to the company dugout. The company itself 
was then on the front line, and we rejoined it the next morning. 
Shortl}^ after, we advanced in the face of heavy machine gun fire, 
and captured about seventy-five of the "square heads" sending them 
to the rear. About 8 o'clock the enemy sent over a heavy barrage, 
under ^\'hich we dug in as best we could. Our captain was killed 
shortly after the barrage started, and our major was wounded in the 
leg. The Germans kept up this fire until there were only about thirty- 
five or forty left of two full companies. Then they came at us, hurl- 
ing hand grenades as they advanced. With the barrage back of us 
it was impossible to retire. We kept firing with our rifles until the 
Boches were right on us, in overwhelming numbers. There was 
nothing left to do but to give up. I can not understand how any of 
us were left to surrender. 



572 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

I started to get out of a little ditch to help a man just in front who 
had been hit. But hardly had I moved when my rifle was hit by a 
bullet, just grazing my hand. As soon as we had yielded, the Ger- 
mans started back with us. Another comrade and myself carried 
the wounded major to the enemy's first-aid station, where he was 
attended to. We were then taken back of the German lines to a 
small town, where we were placed in the underground apartments of 
a ruined church. There we found our two lieutenants and a couple 
of our men. The next day eight of us were marched all day, under 
guard of two mounted men, arriving at a somewhat larger town 
about 6 o'clock in the evening. 

There we found the remains of our outfit, and there our gas masks 
and helmets were taken. The next morning we were hiked to a rail- 
road and given an hour's ride. That evening we were taken back 
to a point near that from which we started, and were joined by about 
150 other American prisoners. 

On the morning of November 7th we were all headed for Germany, 
on foot. The hike was continued until evening, when we reached 
Virtun, Belgium. There I was taken from the party and sent to a 
hospital. About a week previously I had bruised my elbow, by strik- 
ing a tree while carrying food at night to the front line. The injury 
did not seem serious enough to require examination or dressing. But 
it had become infected, and by the evening of the 7th I was no longer 
able to keep up with the others. 

I was put in with a bunch of French and Italian wounded. There 
is but little left to tell as to my experiences. We did not know that 
the armistice had been signed until November 12th, when the guards 
left. All the wounded who were able to move started at once to make 
their way back to France. The Frenchmen certainly were in a hurry, 
and they can "beat it" toward the homeland, as well as toward the 
enemy. My injury still threatening, I was sent into the main hospital. 
There were about 1,600 wounded Germans in the lot, and I found 
eleven other Americans among the men under treatment. And you 
can believe I was sure glad to be where I could talk United States 
again. The Germans started moving out all their wounded men who 
could stand the transfer the day after the armistice was signed. 

On November 13th the advance guard of the American army ar- 
rived. It brought magazine and cigarettes, among other good things, 
and we were certainly glad to see the men and the supplies. On the 
1 8th we were taken back to the American hospital. I must say that 
we were given excellent care and attention in the American hospital 
until December 12, when I was sent to the classification camp at St. 
Aignan. I saw Harry Kruse ^ of Grant township, while at the classi- 

1 Kruse died later in a camp in Virginia. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 573 

fication camp. He was the only person I knew that I saw from 
November 7th vmtil I returned to Camp Dodge. 

Best Find of All 
From The Stars and Stripes, issue of November 22, 1918. 

Then, treasure trove of treasure troves, the advancmg Americans 
found in the German hospitals some Yankee wounded. In the big 
hospital at Virton, for instance, the Germans had been obliged to 
leave behind some 400 men too seriously wounded to be moved — left 
them there with a full staff of surgeons and nurses to care for them 
— and among these were nine Americans. They had lain there, lone- 
some and helpless, for many days and nights. They awoke on the 
morning of the 12th to find friendly Americans swarming around 
their beds, showering them with cigarettes and magazines. 

Seventy-ninth Division 

In a short reminiscence of the last few days of the war, Victor Os- 
car Johnson tells of straightening out a horseshoe sector, of going 
without food for three days, and of being lost for days from his com- 
pany: 

On November 4th we got orders to straighten out the left flank, 
also to take Hill No. 378. I was in the first platoon, Company D, 
Three Hundred Sixteenth Infantry. We went over the top the morn- 
ing of the 5th, captured our objective, and held it until the evening 
of the 6th, at which time we were relieved. This was the first real 
action in which I participated. The artillery fire against this hill 
by the Germans was very heavy, and their machine guns so active 
that it was almost impossible to get any rations to us. On November 
4th, 5th, and 6th, I did not have a bite of any kind to eat, not even 
water to drink. The little water that was in my canteen the first day 
I gave to a wounded comrade. 

In the evening, after being relieved, I helped carry a man with 
one leg shot off to the first-aid station. Close to this place we found 
two kitchens, and though they had been shelled through the day we 
found some bread, syrup, and corn beef, so had a big feed. When 
the three of us finished our meal at midnight we did not know the 
way back to Company D, so we crawled into a shell hole to sleep 
until morning. Then we located our company. The Three Hun- 
dred Fifteenth and the Three Hundred Sixteenth Regiments were 
still holding the lines along this sector when the armistice was signed. 
It was a wonderful relief when the thunder of the big guns ceased. 
On November 13th I was with a detail of men looking for dead sol- 



574 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

diers. We found quite a few of them; then we dug a grave a Httle 
way behind the Hnes, where we laid them to rest. 

On November 14th we moved to a prison camp that had been used 
by the Germans, located between Reville and Echannay. 

Our last long hike was in the latter part of March, 1919, to the 
fourth training area in the general vicinity of Chaumont. This hike 
lasted for five days, but it was toward home, so everybody was happy. 

Pushing Back the Enemy 

The best- laid plans go oft awry. In handling two million men 
over disorganized transportation routes there were numerous oppor- 
tunities for miscarriage of plans. Chris Kladstrup of Newell tells 
of one such incident and the difficulty encountered in again finding 
the organization. 

At Montichard we stopped and had roll call and were then divided 
into small parties of about forty men each. The group I was with 
was sent to a small country town, St. Georges, about nine kilometers 
from Montichard. After drilling two weeks we entrained again, 
with forty-five men and equipment in each of the small French cars, 
to take a two days' journey to Is-sur-Tille, one of the large United 
States camps in France. Here was where the confusion occurred. 
Though most of the train was switched to the proper place, two cars 
were sidetracked by mistake, and the boys who were in them were 
separated from the rest of the company. I was in one of these cars. 
A day's ride took us to St. Dizier, where we spent the remainder of 
the day; then followed a rail journey of another day's duration, after 
which we were loaded on trucks, and after riding almost all night 
failed to find our company. The next day we hiked seven kilometers, 
and again rode several hours on trucks, at the end of which we were 
fortunate enough to locate our company. After joining them we 
hiked during the night to some French barracks near Issoncourt, 
where we were part of an assemblage of 2,500 soldiers. Here we 
remained from the 14th to the 27th of October, then took a long hike 
to join the Three Hundred Thirteenth Infantry of the Seventy-ninth 
Division, and I was there given final assignment to Company F. 
This was at Rupt. That night we hiked a distance of thirty-five 
kilometers to Verdun, reaching there at 4 a.m. We were under shell 
fire from this time until November nth. 

We left Verdun October 29th for Cote der Roche and pitched our 
tents on the slopes of a hill directly in front of the artillery. There 
was a great deal of artillery at this place — mostly five and six-inch 
guns. We were terribly shelled on the way up to the front November 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 575 

5th and lost many men in killed and wounded. The three Hundred 
Thirteenth attacked at i o'clock at Brabrent. Cornsenoje Forest, 
Reville, Waville, Crepion, and Moirey were also captured by detach- 
ments of the Seventy-ninth Division. We were advancing all the time 
against the enemy, who was retreating very rapidly until November 
9th, when we were relieved aliout nightfall. That night we got some 
rest and were moving into the lines the morning of the nth when 
the news first reached us of the signing of the armistice and that at 
1 1 a.m. all hostilities would cease. It seemed too good to be true. 

Seventy-ninth Division 

Written by Ernest W. Lehman, Company E, Three Hundred Six- 
teenth Regiment, Seventy-ninth Division. 

The start for the front was made on the afternoon of November 5th. 
That night we slept along the railroad track. The following day we 
hiked six hours and after spending the night in a church at the town 
of Dugny we were hauled in trucks to a point north of Verdun. From 
here we hiked four miles to find shelter in dugouts, where we had to 
be on guard for gas all night. On the 8th we marched to Etraye, 
where seventy-two men were transferred from the infantry into the 
machine gun company as ammunition runners. For thirty-six hours 
we carried messages. When, on the afternoon of the loth a comrade 
and I were ordered back to our original company, our first concern 
was for something to eat. On the morning of the nth, after aris- 
ing at 5 130 and loading our ammunition carts, we started for the 
front intending to send over a barrage. Enroute we found a bridge 
blown to pieces, so had to unload the ammunition from the carts and 
carry it two miles. Thirteen machine guns were set up ready for 
action when orders came to move a little further forward. From the 
second location, further up the hill than the first, we sent our last 
barrage at 7 :05 in the morning, while the German shells were flying 
all around, and put three machine guns out of commission, but for- 
tunately no men were severely wounded. At 11 o'clock everything 
was quiet. 

To include March 8, 1919, the total battle casualties of this division 
as reported, were 3,223. To include March i, 1919, eighty Distin- 
guished Service Crosses were awarded individuals of the Seventy- 
ninth Division. 



576 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Citation for 79TH Division 

Headquarters 79TH Division, American E. F., France. 

November 27, 191 8. 
From : Commanding General. 

To : Co. O, 316th Infantry, thru C. G. 158th Infantry Brigade. 

Subject : Commendation of Regiment. 

1. In the final offensive on the heights east of the Meuse and north 
of Verdun the task of breaking the enemy's resistance at the Borne 
du Cornouiller (Hill 378) devolved upon the 316th Infantry Regi- 
ment. Stubbornly defended by the enemy, this tactically strong point 
presented an obstacle of most serious character. In spite of all diffi- 
culties the Regiment succeeded after three days heavy fighting, No- 
vember 4th to 6th, in capturing and finally holding the Borne du 
Cornouiller, in breaking the enemy's resistance and contributed ma- 
terially to driving the enemy from the heights east of the Meuse a 
few days later. 

2. Numerous authenticated instances of gallantry, tenacity and 
endurance have come to the Commanding General's notice, proving 
beyond a question that the Regiment acquitted itself with the great- 
est credit and in a manner worthy of the best American traditions. 

3. The Commanding General takes great pride in the achieve- 
ments of the Regiment and directs that you bring this letter to the 
attention of your command. Joseph E. Kuhn, 

Major General U. S. A. 

The Lost Battalion 

Company E of the Three Hundred Eighth Infantry was in "the 
Lost Battalion" and Albert Wolfe of this company tells the follow- 
ing story of these forces: 

Our boys were in the pocket six days and nights. When we got 
out there were only fifty of us left — the rest were killed, wounded, 
or taken prisoners. I was one of the bunch who filled the company 
up then. We went on for a few days and were relieved by the Sev- 
enty-eighth Division. On the morning of November 3d, we went 
into the line again but were not called upon to do much fighting ; the 
Germans retreated too fast. It was just hike and hike to keep up 
within sight of them. We crossed the Meuse River on the last drive. 

The bridges were all blown up. Some of the boys lost their guns 
as well as other parts of their equipment in making the crossing. 

Our boys who were taken prisoners in the Argonne were returned 
to us about the fiirst of January, 1919. They said they were treated 
pretty well while being prisoners. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 577 

One boy by the name of Olson, from Rembrandt, who went when 
I did, died of pneumonia while I was with him. But that is the only 
boy I was with who died. Danne Redenbaugh was with our group 
when we went overseas, but we were separated after we got to France. 

Battle of Audenarde 

John E. Reese, of Nokomis Township, writes thus of Ninety-first 
Division ^ activities : 

King Albert of Belgium had asked the Allied commanders for two 
good American divisions to be sent up there to put "pep" into the 
armies fighting in Belgium at that time. The Ninety-first and the 
Thirty-seventh, which were just out of the first big Argonne drive, 
were sent in answer to this call. This, by the way, was supposed 
to be the largest move the A.E.F. ever made, considered from the 
short length of time that it took to get these two divisions into Bel- 
gium. We were attached to the Fifth French Army Corps. We 
made two drives there — that is, we were in the second when the 
armistice was signed. We were at that time in Audenarde, where 
we were held up temporarily for a few days. 

There are three canals and the river Scheldt running through Au- 
denarde, and as all the bridges were blown up and the opposite banks 
well fortified we had to stop. Not much was known about the con- 
dition of the bridges, etc., but we did know that the Germans were 
shelling the place so badly that it was impossible to get through. The 
Allied forces did not have any luck getting information with air 
service because of weather conditions and heavy bombardment. So 
volunteers were called for from the engineers. Our captain sent 
two of us in first to observe conditions. We were busy dodging 
shells and Germans until 5 o'clock in the morning, but by this time 
we had learned the location of their batteries and their machine-gun 
layouts, as well as the condition of the blown-up bridges. "Jerry," 
as we called the Germans, is a bear on demolition work. 

The next day we were in position to go in there — that is, after our 
artillery had moved Jerry's batteries. We had plenty of shell fire 
even for a few days later while we were building bridges, but we soon 
crossed the river and had him on a high lope by November nth. 



^ Data on this division shows that thirty members of the division were given the Distin- 
guished Service Cross. John E. Reese wras one of the men so honored. 



578 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

The Wreck of Chateau Thierry 

Impressions of the wreckage at Chateau Thierry are recounted by 
S. L. Hoffman who was assigned to duty in that sector with an engi- 
neer company. 

For several miles we picked our way over this field on a track that 
had just been laid. Along the river pontoon boats and parts of 
bridges showed me where fellow engineers had attempted to build 
bridges across the stream under fire. The town of Chateau Thierry 
was just a pile of stones and dust, with every tree and brush wiped 
off the earth by machine gun and shrapnel. From here on the 
country looked worse and worse. Everywhere there were signs of 
war — tracks were lined with big guns and all along the road were 
thousands of French and American soldiers moving to the front. 
During a half hour's halt at Commercy we saw the marks of a bomb 
dropped from a Boche aeroplane. The track was not demolished, but 
the station and sheds were, and all the glass in town was shattered. 

At Toul I had to exhibit my orders to half a dozen French officers. 
Here I received my first mail, and among it the good news that I had 
been made captain on September 17th. I immediately donned the 
two bars. Toul was full of American colonels and generals and 
French officers of high rank, and I soon found out that a captain was 
small potatoes here. One of my first duties was to spend a week get- 
ting familiar with the locations and the surrendered positions of the 
Germans. All the stories about dugouts and shelters being furnish- 
ed with bath tubs, pianos and electric lights are true, for I saw men 
who fitted their camps with these conveniences from captured dug- 
outs. Nearly all the salvage companies had a piano or two. 

I saw considerable aerial fighting, and later had my first attempt 
£it building a storehouse at ^^'oinville knocked all to splinters by the 
Boche artillery. \\'e built it up again and it remained unmolested. 

Let me illustrate the treachery of the Boche. Soon after beginning 
the construction of a railhead at Woinville there appeared one day a 
small Boche scout plane. It showed no signs of having a gun mount- 
ed on it, neither did it carry bombs. The French chased it away 
several times, but after concluding that it was not trying to do any 
harm ceased their vigilance. The driver would sail over us and drop 
down hand bills on which were printed advice to our boys to come 
over and join the German forces while they had a chance or they 
might never see home again. This peddling of bills kept up for about 
a week, when suddenly one day he darted over to a big observation 
balloon we had in the woods near by and riddled it with a machine 
gun he had cleverly hidden in the body of the plane. Our fellows 



HONOR ROLL OF BUEXA VISTA COUNTY 579 

watched him after that, and in a few days brought him down in a 
shower of shrapnel. 

When the armistice was signed the nth of November the Boches 
came out of their holes, offered wine and bread, of which they seemed 
to have plenty, to our boys, and two hours after they ceased firing our 
fellows were over in their trenches and the troops were all mixed up. 

I celebrated the occasion by going to the Second Army staff' offi- 
cers' ball at the French club. It was the first time the city had been 
lighted since the war. Everybody was in the spirit of the occasion. 
The morning of the 13th Colonel Downing and myself, after an ex- 
citing trip, made entrance into Metz, and claimed the distinction of 
being the first Americans to do so. We did not have any excitement 
after that until we got our first sight of the Statue of Liberty. 

Engineers Build Warehouses 

The wide variety of work accomplished by engineering companies 
is illustrated in the recital of the following incidents from the record 
of Z^Iajor George K. ]\IcCullough of Storm Lake : 

The Eighty-eighth Division was organized at Camp Dodge during 
the fall of 1917. The camp was not completed when the men report- 
ed there and the first duty of the engineers was to assist in the com- 
pletion of the buildings of the camp to make ready for occupancy. 
The Three Hundred Thirteenth Engineers was organized at this time 
and I was placed ift command of Company B of this regiment. By 
the middle of October this regiment was practically filled up and the 
training commenced. About the last of October it was found by the 
War Department that replacements for the troops overseas at that 
time would be far in excess of what had been estimated and accord- 
inglv replacements were taken from the divisions in training on this 
side, the Eighty-eiglith Division being included with the others. Dur- 
ing the fall of 191 7 and the early spring of 1918, 756 men were on the 
rolls of Company B. These men were given from one to two months 
training and then sent as replacements for other units. In ^lay, 
19 18, orders were issued to fill up the units of the Eighty-eighth Di- 
vision and prepare them for departure overseas. 

The training schedule for overseas troops was commenced at Les 
Laumes, France, and after two weeks another move was made to 
Hericourt, about twenty-five miles from the eastern boundary of 
France. Here the regiment was split up and the First Battalion, of 
which Company B was a part, marched eastward to the town of Cha- 
vanne, arriving there on the 19th of September, 1918. The training 
schedule was resumed at this place, and in addition the tools and 
equipment for an engineer battalion were assembled and made ready 



SSo HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

for use. By a series of night marches October 5th, 6th, and 7th, 
Company B moved into Alsace, being billeted in the village of Elbach. 
This company was put in charge of the maintenance and reconstruc- 
tion of the trenches occupied by a part of the Three Hundred Fiftieth 
Infantry on this front. Listening posts and machine gun emplace- 
ments were built here and work commenced on the drainingf and re- 
pair of the trenches, when the company was ordered to move to 
Fontaine. This point was the base of supply of the Eighty-eighth 
Division, and the quartermaster had been notified that he would have 
to release all the French buildings which he was using. This required 
the construction of eight warehouses twenty feet by seventy feet. 
This duty, assigned to Company B, was completed in seven days. We 
then moved to Pagny-de-Barrine, where we were billeted when the 
armistice was signed. Company B was then immediately ordered 
on the work of rebuilding the railroad from Paris to Metz through 
Pont-a-Mousson, and for this work went into camp in a deserted vil- 
lage which had been almost totally destroyed, Pagny-sur-]\Iaselle. 
Prior to the war the railroads of France and Germany had not been 
connected, and it was at this point that Company B made the connec- 
tion between the French and German railroads, where heretofore had 
been the transfer station. 

On the 5th of December Company B was detached from the Eighty- 
eighth Division and attached to the Ninth Corps at St. Mihiel as 
corps engineers. On February 17th we w^ere ordered to De Mange- 
aux-Eau to take charge of an engineer depot. 

I was advised of my promotion to major on February 25th and vv^as 
sent to Marson to take command of the First Battalion of the Three 
Hundred Thirteenth Engineers. In March the American schools at 
St. Joire, consisting of fifty-one buildings, was erected by Companies 
A and C. This battalion was then put on highway work, which was 
their special service until the 17th of May, when they marched to De 
Mange to entrain for St. Nazaire, the port of embarkation. 

Te;lls His Story in Rhyme 

The war developed considerable poetical inclination among fighters. 
One Buena Vista County boy recounts his experiences in verse. 
Charles Samsel had never claimed any distinction as a poet laureate, 
but in the following quatrains gives vent to a form of war reminis- 
cences that are novel and interesting: 

In the year of nineteen-eigkteen, There five weeks was spent in training 

On the twenty-fourth of June, To learn to fight the deadly Hun 

I was drafted in the army Then we left for over-seas 

And to Camp Dodge was taken soon. Where the worst was yet to come. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



581 



Three days and nights we rode by rail 
Through many noted eastern points — 
A stop or two to march a trail 
To rest our weary, aching joints. 

We took a dive in Indian Lake, 
A bath in the "Y," Wilkes-Barre, 
Where excitement was no fake. 
Two Yanks there received a jar. 

Niagara Falls in the early morn 
The boys were marched to see ; 
I failed to 'have the pleasure 
The guards were not to be set free. 

Next we landed in Camp Upton, 
Where we stayed four days in wait 
For our over-seas equipment 
E'er we left United States. 

Once on board the huge Olympic, 
Our navy's second largest boat, 
We sailed the blue and wide Atlantic, 
Seven days we were afloat. 

One day and night spent in Southamp- 
ton 
Sunday eve we loaded up 
And at night we crossed the Channel 
While the convoys formed a cup. 

At dawn we dropped an anchor safely 
In the harbor of LeHavre, 
Where it appeared to us, ere evening, 
We had come abroad to starve. 

We were marched some four miles 

distant 
To a "rest camp"— Ah, indeed ! 
Where we groomed ourselves, each 

instant 
Fondly waiting for a feed. 

While formed in order for our mess 
Beloved Cap received his orders — 
We must march ; entrain at once ; 
And move to reserve quarters. 

In cattle cars we traveled 
Through foreign towns galore; 
The second night we landed 
In Epoisses, cramped and sore. 

Twelve-thirty a.m. in company order, 
Puppy tents were pitched in haste ; 
For each Yank had learned already 
That he had no rest to waste. 



The following day at one p.m. 
We rolled and slung equipment; 
After a march of a mile and a half 
We were handed another shipment. 

Three weeks, two days, at Corrombles 
We drilled, half starved and worried; 
Then made the trip to Belfort 
Where our hopes of peace were buried. 

Eighteen miles were made by route- 
step 
With a rifle and a pack. 
At Les Laumes we entrained 
To ride again the railroad track. 

Arrived at Belfort we unloaded; 
Ate our breakfast out of cans; 
Slung equipment, journeyed onward 
To the village of Dorans. 

Ten days here the fast continued, 
Sick-book carried quite a list. 
There's where I got the influenza, 
Three weeks I struggled to exist. 

Exposed to gas and aircraft shrapnel, 
Masks and helmets issued out; 
Pack well loaded, three blankets o'er it, 
Once again we took the route. 

Under darkness, six miles distant, 
A new location here we found ; 
Just a week we stayed in safety 
Listening to a roaring sound. 

Now Endelans left behind us, 
Gas alarms began to snort; 
Thus we learned the beastly nature 
Of the Boche — in Menencourt. 

Twelve miles covered, here we tarried ; 
Camouflage was now the game. 
One week later found us moving. 
Kaiser Bill was all to blame. 

Vauthermont, eight miles before us. 
We must travel Sunday night ; 
Seven days here, dodging shrapnel, 
Getting closer to the fight. 

Night and day, close watch and guard- 
ing, 
Every Yank must be alert. 
Thirteen miles to the bloody trenches 
With Death's toll we now must flirt. 



582 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



Aircraft skirmished, artillery rumbled, 
Gas shells whistled through the air; 
OutiX)sts kept a watchful lookout, 
Determined not a Boche to spare. 

Eight days giiard on a quiet sector, 

Each man gloried in belief 

That soon we'd leave those gas-proof 

dugouts, 
Back to Falchwiller for relief. 

Six days and nights we spent, not 

knowing 
Where or when we'd take a step ; 
But after sunset we were going 
Nine miles back to visit Reppe. 

Just a day to wait for darkness 
And to rest us from the jaunt. 
Eleven miles revealed our smartness. 
Also, found us, Offermont. 

Here two days; the following evening 
Twelve miles more we must proceed 
To take the cars at famous Belfort — 
A well earned ride, we all agreed. 

At Bernecourt, our destination, 
We debarked with all our might ; 
Then jammed in trucks, with packs 

and rifles, 
A nine mile ride we had that night. 

Three weeks we stayed at Minorville. 
Sheep sheds make a glorious place 
For a white man to inhabit ; 
A doughboy suffers no disgrace. 

November tenth, 'twas in the evening, 
All were huddled 'round the fire. 
With no surprise we got the order — 
"Prepare to move, and not retire." 

Twenty miles to hike e'er morning, 
To take our turn on the Toul front ; 
The orders changed, we had no warn- 
ing. 
A sleepless night — a common stunt. 

From dawn next day "til the eleventh 

hour, 
The distant roar of gxins increased ; 
Then the armistice proclaimed its 

power 
And all was quiet — war had ceased. 



Church bells rang and cheers resound- 
ed ; 

Thought of home and Christmas time ; 

But still we drilled in mud, astounded; 

Squads riglit and left now seemed a 
crime. 

Many miles we walked on detail, 
Policing up some filthy burg. 
Thanksgiving day we walked to 

Francheville — 
A sandwich dinner seemed absurd. 

Returning home, each Yank disgusted, 
Foreign service was well discussed ; 
Reflecting on the past, and "Justice," 
"Finish soon," "In God we trust." 

The sun had set, and candles flickered, 
Weary heads prepared for rest ; 
Then to our midst there came an echo 
To move — 'twas rumored, now to 
Brest. 

An early breakfast, a hurried forma- 
tion. 

At daylight we were on the road, 

Seventeen miles. We were near star- 
vation 

As we trudged along with heavy load. 

With broken ranks we entered Aulnois 
Assigned to billets, tired and worn. 
Fourteen miles, oil faithful doughboys, 
Next day reached Melna La Hoigne. 

The third day out we rode the hob- 
nails 

Ten miles more. We stood the test 

To Reftroy, where we dodged the 
details ; 

Mumps and quarantine progressed. 

In rain and mud we spent December 
Assuming squads, both right and left; 
But we resumed, we'd well remember. 
Our visit with the A. E. F. 

We maneuvered, drilled, took turns at 

detail, 
And seldom ever had dry feet. 
We thought our letters had struck a 

derail ; 
Our famous "Y" was incomplete. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 



583 



For firewood, we took collections, 
And slept in blankets on the floor. 
We asked for clothes at all inspections ; 
The answer was, "We 'have no more." 

So 'twas thus we lived in Refifroy 
Through the winter days in France ; 
Thinking of home and future joy, 
For which we took a daring chance. 

Over rocks and hills we wandered. 
On "problems" of a coming war; 
Our time and francs we freely squan- 
dered 
At various schools in St. Joiare. 

February brought a change of weather 
Snow and ice we then endured. 
With chillblained feet in frozen leather, 
Our minds were broadened and ma- 
tured. 

Six months had passed since embarka- 
tion ; 

The gold stripe now we each possess. 

Which stands for grief, and aggrava- 
tion, 

"Received in full," while O. A. S. 

Long, dreary days of anxious waiting; 
As spring approached we hoped in vain 
That soon we'd all be emigrating 
To where they "compree Meri-cain." 

April found us in the same location. 
With "beaucoup" rain the whole month 

through 
We now had gained the information 
In May we'd cross the ocean blue. 

We now marked time with pick and 

shovel, 
Policing up for miles around. 
The eighth of May, with full jjack 

shouldered, 
Partee Refifroy — homeward bound. 

DeManges, four miles, the waiting box 
cars. 

Was now our home "to not abuse ;" 

Two days of brilliant scenes — and ox- 
carts ; 

At 9 a.m. we reached LaSuze. 



We detrained and transferred baggage 
To trucks that seemed but odd to us. 
To \'oivres, four miles, an ideal village, 
A well kept place, 'twas obvious. 

After six days we departed; 
Equipment now must show repair. 
With packs reduced, from LaSuze we 

started 
For a twelve-hour ride to St. Nazaire. 

At least we reached the goal of No- 
where ; 
The end of box car circumstance; 
Four miles to camp, two days laid over; 
On May nineteenth we finished France. 

On board the steamship Rijudam 
We sailed, alone, eleven days ; 
All hearts rejoice when at last we land 
And are welcomed back to the U.S.A. 

At Hoboken dock we walked the gang 

plank; 
Once more our gratitude to feel 
For a safe return, and to fully thank 
The Red Cross for a good, square 
meal 

With slight delay we ne.xt were loaded 
On cars to ride those cushion seats, 
To Camp Merritt, where a week de- 
voted 
Our time to bunk fatigue and eats. 

Again we leave to proceed with plea- 
sure 

On sleeping cars — Oh, what a treat ! 

O'er a land that all most highly trea- 
sure 

And with which no other can compete. 

On June the nintli we paraded Qinton 

And left again at 8 p.m. 

In Des Moines, next day, with packs 

we're sprintin' 
'Twas a happy day \v1ien we salvaged 

them. 

Just a day at Dodge for examination, 
And to receive our last allotted pay; 
Then home, sweet home — oh, the con- 
solation 
A doughboy feels on discharge day. 



S84 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Tanks Rumble On In Victor's Path Through Argonne 
From The Stars and Stripes: 

Private William Kenworthy, Irishman by birth and fighter by in- 
stinct and enlistment, late of the Canadian E. F. and more recently 
of the American Tank Corps, was languishing in the brig of an S.O.S. 
town when the whole A.E.F., from Verdun to Brittany, began to 
tingle with the preparation for the drive in Argonne. It was too 
much for Private Kenworthy. 

It was painful enough to be detached from his outfit in this man- 
ner under any circumstances : to be away from them when they were 
going into action — that was a thought unbearable. That evening 
at sundown there was a jail delivery of one. 

Smelling the battle from afar, the escaped prisoner followed his 
nose. Dodging M.P.'s enroute, hooking rides, lying cheerily to the 
too curious R.T.O. men, advancing by forced night marches, sleep- 
ing by day and eating when and where he could, he reached the edge 
of the Forest of Argonne in time to snuggle down on the driver's 
cushion of a baby juggernaut, crank her up and start her roaring, 
lurching, smashing her way along the blasted road that leads to 
Berlin. 

LIKE A GARDEN sprinkler 

Today the armor of his battered tank is so pierced with bullets 
that it looks like the business end of a flower sprinkler. His face is 
one large blister, memento of a breathless moment when he saw a 
brother tank burst into flames after a bullet had reached its gas res- 
ervoir. Kenworthy stuck his head out as a turtle comes out of its 
shell, grasped the situation, jumped clear, raced to the rescue and, in 
the nick of time, dragged the scorched and unconscious driver to 
safety. 

Once Kenworthy had to retreat, for his tank, clearly visible, was 
drawing fire from the German 77's to where the doughboys lay, and 
just then the doughboys could not go forward. So the tank had to 
go back. But the railroad bridge on which it came over had just 
been blown to matchwood, of which the wreckage was floating down- 
stream, while all that remained from shore to shore was a pair of 
gleaming rails. Kenworthy started for the river's edge. 

The lieutenant in the gun turret, who usually guides and instructs 
the driver by a code system of pats and pokes — one in the neck, one 
on the crown, one on the right shoulder, one on the left, each has a 
meaning — found his list of signals unequal to this occasion. So, 
crouching down, he howled at Kenworthy above the deafening hub- 
bub of the tank:" You can never cross on those rails." 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 585 

HE couldn't, but he did 

Kenworthy's answer, which was drowned in tlie roar of the en- 
gine, is believed to have been, "The hell I can't," or words to that 
effect. Anyway, he did. 

Meanwhile, his AWOL status has not yet been adjusted. His case 
is somewhat complex. A compromise of some sort may be effected. 
Very likely he will be given the D.S.C. and shot at sunrise. 

Kenworthy's story is worth the telling if for no other reason than 
that it is true to the spirit of a branch of the service that necessarily 
calls upon adventurous souls throughout the Army, summoning them 
to a life that fairly brims with excitement and danger. For the 
tanks are the cavalry of this war. 

How great the danger is can be best guessed by glancing over the 
list of killed, gassed and wounded in the Tank Corps, or by looking 
at the mauled and twisted tanks themselves. One brigade that has 
been operating along the eastern edge of the Forest of Argonne it- 
self had more than a dozen tanks come to grief in the first month of 
the battle, of which all but one have been salvaged in varying stages 
of wreck. The other, with good reason, is believed to be in the proud 
possession of the enemy. 

A PURELY OFFENSIVE WEAPON 

The many and lively experiences of the month have proved that there 
is little the enemy can do seriously to halt the irresistible advance of 
the tanks. That is a cheering fact, for every increase and improve- 
ment in tank warfare works in favor of the Allies, and the Allies 
alone, because the tank is solely an offensive weapon, and a military 
critic need be neither an inspired prophet nor a daredevil to predict 
that, come what may in the months that lie ahead, the armies of Ger- 
many will not again assume the offensive in our day and generation. 

If the enemy digs a trench, the tanks go down one side and up the 
other. If he rolls logs across the road, the tanks skirt them rakishly. 
The tanks knock down stone walls and proceed, somewhat groggily, 
across the debris. They brush aside small trees with contempt. If 
a stream is unbridged and unfordable — why, then, one tank can 
make a sacrifice plunge, with the others crossing on its back. 

HOW TO DODGE A MINE FIELD 

The tanks laugh at mine craters. They even laughed at a large 
sinister mine field in Argonne — a tremendous patch of hidden con- 
tact mines which the enemy had sown, praying for a harvest of death. 
But, in the agitaion of his retreat, he committed the important error 



586 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

of forgetting to take down the danger sign which had served to warn 
his own traffic of the field's existence. 

Then tanks, then, can go any place, but the journey is not necessary 
pleasant. Indeed, the sensation is a little like motoring in an earth- 
quake. Probably the earlier tank casualties are all bruises and sea- 
sickness. A tank ride suggests a sail in a steam roller off the Grand 
Banks during a squall. 

The month has proved, too, that the great enemy of the tanks is the 
yy. Only a direct hit can do the business. This means the enemy 
must bring his artillery into the front line, and any weapon which 
compels him to such a course may be said to have proved its useful- 
ness. One yy did for two of our tanks in Argonne. That particular 
gun now reposes at a tank headquarters, for a third tank did for it. 

THK ANTI-TANK EL,EPHANT GUN 

Then there is the anti-tank rifle, a villainous affair, an elephant 
gun, really, nearly six feet long and firing a five-and-a-half inch 
long, armor piercing shell. One of these ripped its way through the 
17mm. armor of the gun turret, through the 3mm. steel head shield, 
through the gunner's lower jaw and out the other side. And he 
lives to tell the tale. Probably he will still be telling it when he is 83. 

One brave Boche stood squarely in the center of Main Street, Var- 
ennes, as one of the little monsters came whiffling into town, bur- 
bling as it came. Everyone else had fled, as well they might, for to 
see a tank bearing down on you is as demoralizing an experience as 
would be the sudden appearance of a dynosaur in Main Street. 

This lone hero stood with his anti-tank rifle ready for action, eas- 
ing its weight and its kick by a feather pillow stuffed in at his shoul- 
ders. He stood his ground. The tank did not stop. For a few 
moments, Varennes was full of flying feathers. 

Then there is the tank trap. Our enemy had dug a good many 
pits in Argonne for our destruction, and through the thin roof that 
concealed one of these, an imwary tank pitched down only to find 
that the trap was filled with water. The sergeant gunner could 
climb out of the submerged juggernaut through the freely flapping 
doors of the turret, but there was no hope for the corporal who was 
driving. All he could do was to lend the last of his strength to a 
good upward push for his pal. He did that. 

TIPSY WITH GAS 

Adventures? There have been hundreds. Think of the gunner 
whose driver, tipsy with gas, was evacuated and who was settling 
down within his idle tank to wait for reinforcement's when some ma- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 587 

chine guns, hidden in the fringe of the Argonne Forest, opened up 
on him. He pointed the tank in the general direction of the attacking 
nest, started her going, climbed up into the turret and went after 
those gunners alone. He got them. 

Think of the captain who, scouting ahead through the fog in ad- 
vance of this little battery of peripatetic one-pounders, stumbled into 
a German trench and a very much occupied German trench at that. 
Eight Boches surrounded him, and were about to bear him of¥ in tri- 
umph when, over the edge of the trench, an inquisitive tank poked its 
snout. At the first sight of it, the eight fled. It was a rout. 

Like all good soldiers, the men of the Tank Corps acknowledge a 
gallant enemy when they meet him. They met him in the First Prus- 
sian Guard, or rather among the older members of that famous divis- 
ion who had belonged to it before the catastrophic deterioration of 
its personnel set in after the Ourcq last August. 

Certain machine gunners of that Guard division stuck to the guns 
and kept firing them — though they must have known that the bullets 
rained harmless as pebbles thrown at a rhinoceros — stuck to their 
guns till guns and gimners both were run down — literally run down 
by a tank. 

EVEN BABES ARE CUMBERSOME 

These are just a few of the stories of the Tank Corps. Scores like 
them can be read in the lacerated, perforated armor, the twisted 
tracks, the shattered turrets of a dozen war-worn tanks standing 
drunkenly in the mud outside the repair shop. For they are such 
heavy, cumbersome things, even the tiny 6>^ ton babies, that a long 
haul to the rear is out of the question and the repair shop must and 
does hum on the battlefield itself. 

Not only the scars, but the empty ammunition racks are eloquent 
of past adventures. They tell how, from each turret, the old one 
pounder fired its 237 rounds before it gave up, and usually the 45's 
carried by the gunner and the driver also come back empty if they 
come back at all. 

Such a shop is camouflaged, of course, till it looks like an inno- 
cent old vineyard. There ingenuity works day and night, for after 
all, America is one big Menlo Park. There the wreckage of a doz- 
en tanks must be converted into a half dozen tanks fit for action. 
There a Mercedes engine, deftly extracted from a fallen German 
plane, serves as a dynamo. 

There, in idle moments, the men speculate on what Uncle Sam 
might do if the war should end abruptly and leave him embarrassed 
witli the possession of a large fleet of juggernauts. They have it all 
worked out now. Even a baby tank will pull four plows, go through 



588 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

sage brush, negotiate irrigation ditches, and generally be mighty 
handy around the farm back home. 

SALVAGING A GRIDDLE 

There cakes are served to sustain the morale of the men sentenced 
to repair work. The armor plate from a salvaged tank makes a pos- 
sible griddle, and even the pancake turner is ingenious. The blade 
was once an oblong trench mirror. The stem was the ramrod of a 
German gun. The handle was the shell of an anti-tank rifle. 

Griddle cakes are needed to cheer the tank men and keep their 
minds ofif the corps insignia, which depresses them. That elaborate 
collar design, which shows a salamander fairly rampant over some- 
thing or other, is the subject of more jesting in the tank ranks than 
its designers are allowed to suspect. 

Of course, each tank — or bug, as the men call their juggernauts — 
has some insignia of its own. One company has its turrets gorgeous 
with hearts, clubs, spades and diamonds, according to the platoon, 
and the drivers can preserve a fair skirmish line in battle by merely 
following suit. 

TAILOR MAKES GOOD AT IT 

Apparently, no calling especially fits a man for service with the 
Tank Corps. One tailor has made very good. So has a window 
dresser. But what does that prove. Chauffeurs are not especially 
in demand. That might surprise you, unless you remember that the 
wise cavalry recruiting officer never willingly enlists a cowboy. 

A miscellaneous personnel, then, has made good in the Tank Corps. 
Made good as fighters, that is, for as parents one brigade, at least, 
has proved an abysmal failure. It carries along its own little French 
war orphan, who got himself adopted by the simple process of break- 
ing loose from an asylum and coming along. He lords it over the 
mess sergeant and the adjutant, smokes cigarettes, and behaves in 
such a way any one can tell at a glance he was not one of the Stars 
and Stripes war orphans. 

A cunningly designed attack from the rear was planned by the 
French and Americans as the objective of an advance along the Meuse 
River, when it became apparent that a general retirement from Bel- 
gium and France had been decided upon by the German leaders. With 
the necessity of such a course facing them and with fear of defeat as 
a result of the constantly pressing offensive, the German Government 
renewed overtures for peace. A diplomatic note was received by 
President Wilson from the German Chancellor on October 6th, ap- 
pealing for an armistice, suggesting that the United States direct the 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 589 

work of restoring peace, and stating her willingness to accept as a 
basis for peace the considerations set forth in President Wilson's 
speech to Congress of January 8, 191 8, and in subsequent addresses. 
President Wilson did not accept this suggestion without qualifica- 
tions. He insisted upon an evacuation of Allied territory before an 
armistice could be signed, or until agreements could be reached by 
American and Allied military advisers as to terms which would make 
impossible the resumption of hostilities by Germany. He further 
took occasion to call to the attention of the Imperial German Govern- 
ment the following quotation in his address of July 4, 1918: "The 
destruction of every arbitrary power anywhere that can separately, 
secretly, and of its single choice disturb the peace of the world, or, if 
it cannot be presently destroyed, at the least its reduction of virtual 
impotence;" reminded them that he viewed the Teutonic military au- 
tocracy as such a power; and made known his determination to deal 
only with a German Government whose rulers should be representa- 
tive of the people. 

On November nth, in a status of war which placed the advantage 
on the side of the Allies, when German armies operating in Belgium 
and France were being defeated by the unified armies of America, 
France, Great Britain, and Belgium, envoys from the German Gov- 
ernment accepted the terms of the Allies from General Foch in an 
agreement for an armistice that meant virtual surrender of Germany 
and thus brought to an end a conflict of more than four years, dur- 
ing which had been employed the largest forces of men and the great- 
est death-dealing contrivances of any war in the world's history. 

"HoMMES 40, Chevaux 8" 

From "Battery F," A.E.F. Three Hundred thirty-ninth Field 
Artillery: 

Roll, roll, roll, over the rails of France, 

See the world and its map unfurled, five centimes in your pants. 

What a noble trip, jolt and jab and jar, 

Forty we, with Equipment "C" in one flat-wheeled box car. 

We are packed by hand. 

Shoved aboard in 'teens. 
Pour a little oil on us 

And we would be sardines. 



590 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Rations ? Oo-la-Ia : and how we love the man 

Who learned how to intern our chow in a cold and clammy can 

Beans and beef and beans, beef and beans and beef, 

Willie raw, he will win the war, take in your belt a reef. 

Mess kits flown the coop, 

Cups gone up the spout, 
Use your thumbs for issue forks. 
And pass the bully beef about. 

Hit the floor for bunk, six hommes in one homme's place; 
It's no fair to the bottom layer to kick 'em up in the face. 
Move the Corporal's feet out of my ear ; 

Lay oft', sarge, you are much too large, I'm not a bedsack, dear. 
Lift my head up please. 
From this bag of bread, 
Put it on somebody's chest. 
Then I'll sleep like the dead. 

Roll, roll, roll, yammer and snore and fight. 

Traveling zoo the whole day thru and bedlam all the night. 

Two days in the cage, going from hither hence; 

Willie raw, he will win the war, take in your belt a reef. 

Helped Win Army Athletic Honors 

Howard T. Torkelson of Sioux Rapids, during his army experience 
assisted in bringing an honor to the American army in an activity 
rather out of the line of military tactics, yet one in which the Buena 
Vista County comrades and friends took just pride. Torkelson par- 
ticipated in the inter-allied games as a member of the American 800- 
meter relay team (Paddock, Haddock, Torkelson, Teschner) that won 
the event at the games and also broke the world's record for the event. 
This quartet was hard pressed by the fast Canadian team. The 
Buena Vista County member of the team was the recipient of one of 
the special medals presented by President Poincare of France. 

The inter-allied games took place in the new Pershing Stadium at 
Joinville-le-Pont, Paris. The opening excercises were held on June 
22d and the games continued daily until July 6th, when General 
Pershing and President Poincare of France awarded the medals. 
These were the regular Minister of War medals given for extraor- 
dinary service, and were only given to athletes who broke records 
or performed extraordinary feats. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 591 

The following countries took part: England, France, Belgium, 
Italy, Portugal, the United States, Czecho-Slovakia, China, Greece, 
Roumania, Brazil, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Arabia, 
Hedjaz, Servia, Guatemala, and Montenegro. 

About 2,000 men took part in the games. General Pershing sent 
Colonel Joseph Thompson, a former athletic director in the east, to 
the United States to collect a team here to take over there for the 
games. As there was no time for tryouts here in America, the coach- 
es of the largest institutions and clubs were asked to pick the team 
from the best athletes in America. About 500 names were sent in 
to the final selection committee that picked the team of forty-eight 
men who accompanied Colonel Thompson to Paris, where they joined 
the athletes still in France with the Army. The team sent over from 
America consisted of boxers, wrestlers, swimmers, tennis players, 
weight throwers, jumpers, and runners. All other teams were picked 
entirely from the men already in France with the army and marines. 

The games were held as a means for binding more closely the Allied 
nations and to take the place of the Olympic games that were post- 
poned on account of the war. 

In the greater part of the games, the American athletes were far 
superior to those of other nations as will be seen by looking over the 
place winners received in each department of sport. Australia also 
made a good showing. 

RESULTS OF THE GAMES 

Track and Field — First, United States; second, France; third, 
Australia; fourth, Belgium; fifth. New Zealand; sixth, Canada. 

Boxing — First, United States; second, Australia; third, France; 
fourth, Italy. 

Swimming — First, United States; second AustraHa; third, France. 

Wrestling — First, United States; second Belgium; third, Czecho- 
slovakia and France. 

Tennis^ Fir St, Australia; second, United States; third, France. 

Rugby — France. 

Association Football — Czecho-Slovakia. 

Base Ball — -United States. 

Basket Ball — United States. 

Fencing — First, France; second, Italy; third, Portugal. 

Horse Riding — First, France; second, Italy. 



592 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Rifle and Pistol Shooting — First, United States; second, France; 
third, Canada. 

Torkelson was captain of the PhilHps Exeter track team of Exeter 
College, Exeter, New Hampshire, and in the class of 191 9. 

Into the Enemy's Country 

Written by Eskil M. Westlin of Albert City. 

Soon after arriving in France I was picked out with a group of 
other men to go to the cavalry training depot at Autun, to study 
methods of trafific control at the front. After six weeks spent there, 
and just as we were about ready to go to the front, the armistice was 
signed. But my interesting experiences did not stop. With eighty 
men I was sent to France for military police duty. For a time we 
were assigned to station patrol, looking after men of the A.E.F. who 
were constantly passing through Paris. During the two weeks of 
the inter-allied race meet the American military police had charge of 
all the police work at the immense stadium, a task which we fulfilled 
with such skill as to draw forth complimentary mention from the 
provost marshal general. We were proud that the Americans walked 
away with most of the prizes. 

On July 14, 1919, the big national holiday in France, I was on duty 
in the Champs Elyses palace which was army headquarters. People 
came the night before to get places along the Champs Elyses to view 
the parade. 

From that time on there was not much military police duty in Paris. 
For a time we had charge of a group of prisoners. 

About the ist of Augvist our provost marshal general. General 
Bandholtze, was ordered to Hungary to head a mission to Budapest 
incident to the peace conference. I was one of twenty-four military 
police, who, with one field clerk, was designated to escort the General 
to Hungary, expecting that we would be gone only a fortnight. We 
traveled south through France, going into Switzerland. Because the 
latter was a neutral country the regulations stipulated that we should 
not pass through in uniform, bu we had no other apparel. Passports 
which we were expected to have were never completed because of our 
haste, and consequently our party was held up at the border. After 
some parley we were permitted to proceed under guard, though not 
permitted to leave the train. We had a day's ride through beautiful 
snow capped mountains, and at night enjoyed a good rest in a hotel at 
Brigg, Switzerland, close to the Italian border. Next morning we 
boarded an electric train which passed through a tunnel eighteen kilo- 
meters long. Our party passed through interesting points in Italy 
and into the small country of Slovacia, and here during a stop of six 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 593 

hours found a hot cHmate. At Vienna we enjoyed a dinner which 
was the first meal we had had for twenty-four hours, though usually 
we had been faring very well. Here we were honored by being grant- 
ed a special train consisting of a baggage car and one passenger 
coach to carry us to Budapest. 

People there did not seem to know who we were. Wearing our 
campaign hats with red band, red collar tabs, with belts, side arms, 
full packs, and two hundred rounds of ammunition, we formed double 
rank and marched through the streets. Crowds rushed out to see vis. 
Some in the crowd who could speak American told the others who we 
were. Evidently they were glad to see us, and asked if more Ameri- 
cans were coming. Roumanians had taken military possession of the 
city to protect it from the "Reds," who had raised so much havoc. 
The Roumanians, having meagre supplies of their own, had forcibly 
taken what they needed to eat and to wear. Every shop was closed, 
the soldiers had gone through every shop and left the owners little. 
The first impression of the citizens was that we had come to drive out 
the Roumanians. For a week we were quartered at the Hotel Bris- 
tol, with only such rations as we could gather from a few boxes of 
supplies that had been left by the American Red Cross. After that 
week we stayed in the quarters of a prince, who had been compelled 
to evacuate. Though all the furniture was removed we managed to 
have a good bunk apiece and such other conveniences as were neces- 
sary, with civilian cooks. General Bandholtze and the officers had 
cjuarters across the street, where also was located our mess hall. All 
of these were close to the King's palace, where we were on duty. 
Guard duty fell to us Americans every fourth day, as there were with 
us delegations of British, Italians, and French, each of whom took 
turns in guarding the castle where sessions of the peace mission were 
held. Duty was lightened by the fact that three of we non-commis- 
sioned officers took turns in the work at hand. 

We met several people in Budapest who could speak English, some 
of whom had visited the States and some in England, all of them peo- 
ple who had been interned during the war. They were glad to see 
us and all had the same hard luck story to tell of difficulty in getting 
anything to eat. Because they had no regular work they got out 
early in the morning to rustle something to eat, though it was seldom 
little more than a slice of black bread, and then they would fall in line 
for a little vegetable soup. This served for all day. We lived on 
this bread and soup for a week, with some beans and canned fish 
which were secured from the A. R. C. boxes. Then there arrived a 
car load of rations for the British and us, consisting of such edibles 
as flour, bacon and cocoa. Though the Roumanians were our allies 
they did not seem to know an American soldier when they saw him. 



594 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

All the people were required to be off the streets at 9:30 p.m. We 
had considerable trouble staying out after this hour; some evenings 
we would be held up half a dozen times before we would reach our 
quarters. One evening, on the way home in a car moving rather 
rapidly, and unaware of the presence of guards, we were ordered to 
halt. It was impossible to stop quickly, whereupon they loaded their 
pieces and came at us with fixed bayonets. After considerable ar- 
guing they permitted us to continue on our way. On another even- 
ing they fired after vis, presumably to frighten us, but it didn't have 
that effect. We stayed to inquire why they had fired and during the 
time of the argument a whole group of Roumanian officers and sol- 
diers gathered around. After an argument of half an hour we went 
our way. Two days later our commanding officers called on all of 
us for statements of what occurred. 

Then came the order that on September 15th all National Army 
men in our detachment should report to Paris to get ready for the 
trip home. A car was ordered to carry our equipment, but the day 
before we were to go orders came to remain for ten days longer. When 
the General finally released twelve of us we had to get passports from 
the Roumanians to leave the country. Traveling was difficult. We 
were permitted to carry only a small amount of money. On the side 
of Hungary our passports were examined, and on tlie opposite side 
our personal effects were searched. In Vienna we were detained 
from Sunday evening until Tuesday evening because of missing the 
inter-allied express from Warsaw to Paris; then on Tuesday evening 
they would carry only six of us so I was one of a group detained un- 
til Friday evening. Whether on duty or off we carried our side 
arms, but never had a suggestion of trouble with either Hungarians 
or Austrians. 

What Constitutes A Division 

A combat division consisted of four regiments of infantry of 3,000 
men, with three battalions to regiment and four companies of 250 
men each to a battalion, and of an artillery brigade of three regiments, 
a machine-gun battalion, an engineer regiment, a trench-mortar bat- 
tery, a signal battalion, wagon trains and headciuarter staffs and mili- 
tary police. These, with medical and other units, made a total 
of over 28,000 men, or practically double the size of a French or Ger- 
man division. Each corps would normally consist of six divisions 
— four combat and one depot and one replacement division — 
and also two regiments of cavalry, and each army from three to five 
corps. With four divisions fully trained, a corps could take over an 
American sector with two divisions in line and two in reserve, with 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 595 

the depot and replacement divisions prepared to fill the gaps in the 
ranks. 

FIRST DIVISION 

The crimson numeral "i" on the left shoulder is the insignia of 
the First Division, Regular Army. Its proud claim is, the first di- 
vision in France, first at the front, first to make a raid, first to fire 
a shot at the Germans, first to attack, first to capture prisoners, first 
to inflict casualties, first to sufifer casualties, first to be cited singly in 
general orders. Division headquarters arrived in France June 27, 
1917. The First was on the Sommeville sector, Anzauville sector, 
in the battle of Cantigny, the Soissons operations, the Marne counter- 
offensive, on the Sazerais sector, in the St. Mihiel drive, the Argonne- 
Meuse ofifensive, operations against Mouzon, south and southwest of 
Sedan, and in the march on Coblenz. It captured 165 officers and 
6,304 men, advanced about thirty-two miles, had 23,345 casualties 
and had Distinguished Service Crosses awarded to 300 of its members. 

SECOND DIVISION 

The insignia of the Second Division, Regular Army, is an Indian 
head in the center of a star on a shield, the colors varying according 
to the unit. No particular meaning is attached to this insignia. It 
is a device painted by a driver on the side of his truck and chosen as 
the division mark. The marine brigade was attached to this divis- 
ion. Division headquarters arrived in France October 26, 1917. 
The Second Division was active in the Verdun and Toul-Troyan sec- 
tors, northwest of Chateau-Thierry. It was in almost continuous 
heavy fighting from May 13th to July 9th. Soissons sector, Marne 
counter-ofl^ensive, Marbache sector and St. Mihiel drive, Blanc Mont 
sector, Champagne advance, and the Argonne Meuse ofifensive. It 
captured 228 officers, 11,738 men, 343 pieces of artillery and 1,350 
machine guns, advanced thirty-eight miles. It had 25,076 casual- 
ties and led all American divisions with 664 members awarded Dis- 
tinguished Service Crosses. 

THIRD DIVISION 

The Third Division, Regular Army, has as its insignia three white 
stripes placed diagonally on a square of royal blue. This division 
was closely associated with the Twenty-eighth (Iron) Division, the 



596 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

former National Guard of Pennsylvania, in the operations in the 
Soissons-Rheims pocket. It includes the Seventy-sixth Field Artil- 
lery, nearly two-thirds of whose members came from Philadelphia. 
The three white stripes represent not only the divisional number 
but also the three major operations in which it was engaged, the 
Marne, the St. Mihiel and the Argonne-Meuse. Divisional head- 
quarters arrived in France April 4, 1918. The blue field is a sym- 
bol of those who die, the division having 18,154 casualties. This 
includes, of course, killed, wounded, and missing. It captured 31 
officers, 2,209 nien, 51 pieces of artillery, and 1,501 machine guns. 
It advanced twenty-six miles and had 233 of its members honored 
with Distinguished Service Crosses. 

FOURTH DIVISION 

The insignia of the Fourth Division of the Regular Army consists 
of four green leaves of ivy placed on a diamond of olive drab, the 
leaves presenting the number of the division. Variations of the in- 
signia also show the Roman numeral IV in the center, also the ivy 
leaf on each point of the numeral 4. Headquarters of this division 
arrived in France May 17, 1918. Its activities included the Marne 
counter-offensive, the vicinity of Noroy and Hautesvesnes, the Vesle 
sector, St. INIihiel sector in reserve, and the Argonne-Meuse offensive. 
The division captured J 2 officers, 2,684 men, 44 pieces of artillery, 
and 31 machine guns. Its total front-line advance was twenty-four 
and one-half kilometers, about fifteen miles. It had 14,183 casualties. 

FIFTH DIVISION 
The red diamond in the insignia of the Fifth Division, Regular 
Army. It has no special significance. The ace of diamonds was 
selected as the division's mark at the suggestion of Colonel Charles 
A. Measl. Division headquarters arrived in France May i, 1918. 
It fought in the Anoult sector. It was part of Major General Lig- 
gett's First Corps, together with the Second, Eighty-second, and Nine- 
tieth Divisions. In the smash across the St. Mihiel salient September 
I2th, it took its full share of the 16,000 prisoners and 443 guns cap- 
tured in this advance. It captured a total of 48 officers, 2,357 "^^n. 
98 pieces of artillery, and 802 machine guns. Its total advance on 
front lines was twenty-nine kilometers, about eighteen miles. It 
suft'ered 9,883 casualties. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 597 

SIXTH DIVISION 

The Sixth Division of the Regular Army has as its distinguishing 
mark a six-pointed star of red cloth with the figure "6" in blue super- 
imposed. The Sixth Division arrived in France July 23, igi8. Its 
activities included the Argonne-Meuse offensive, where it was First 
Army Corps reserve. Enough of the men were in action to give the 
division 576 casualties. 

SEVENTH DIVISION 

The insignia of the Seventh Division of the Regular Army had a 
rather ingenious origin. Its consists of two black triangles, their 
apexes touching on a red base. It was devised by making a figure 
"7" and then placing it over an inverted numeral "7,"prolonging the 
diagonal base lines so that the cross of each touches the cross stroke 
of the other. Division headquarters reached France August 11, 
1918. The Seventh saw action in the Puvenville sector in Lorraine 
from October 9th to 29th and in an extension of the same sector to 
November nth, when the armistice was signed. It captured one 
officer, 68 men, and 28 machine guns, and had a total of 1,818 casual- 
ties. Its total front-line advance was three-fourths of a kilometer. 

TWENTY-SIXTH DIVISION 

A monogram of the letters "YD" of dark blue cloth mounted on a 
diamond of khaki cloth, is the insignia of the "Yankee Division"— the 
Twenty-sixth Division, composed of New England National Guard. 
Division headquarters arrived in France December 5, 1917. The 
Twenty-sixth went into action in the Chemin.des-Dames sector and 
later its activities included the La Reine and Boucq sector, northwest 
of Chateau Thierry, the Marne counter-offensive, Rupt and Eroyon 
sectors. The Twenty-sixth was part of the Fifth Corps that pushed 
in the west side of the St. Mihiel salient. Later it helped to rout the 
Germans out of the Argonne. It captured 61 officers and 3,087 men, 
16 pieces of artillery, and 132 machine guns. It had 15,168 casual- 
ties and had 229 members honored with Distinguished Service Cross- 
es. Its total front-line advance was thirty-seven kilometers, about 
twenty-three miles. 

TWENTY-SEVENTH DIVISION 

The insignia of the Twenty-seventh Division, formerly the National 



598 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Guard of New York, is one of the most novel and representative of 
all. It is a circle of black with red border with the letters N. Y. D. 
(New York Division) worked into a red monogram. Around this 
monogram are the seven stars of the constellation Orion, in honor 
of Major General John F. O'Ryan, who was the only National Guard, 
officer of his rank to go to France. Division headquarters reached 
France May lO, 1918. Its activities included the East Poperinghe 
line in Belgium; Dickebusch sector, in Belgium; Hindenburg line 
operations, St. Souplet sector, the battle for Jonc de Mer bridge and 
the St. Maurice River. It captured 65 officers and 2,292 men and 
made a total frontal advance of seven miles. It had 11,218 casualties, 
1,972 of its men "sleep where poppies bloom." Distinguished Ser- 
vice Crosses were awarded to 139. 

TWENTY-EIGHTH DIVISION 

The men wearing the red keystone come from the Keystone State. 
The Twenty-eighth (Iron) Division is made up of National Guard of 
Pennsylvania, and the keystone indicates the origin more clearly than 
any of the other insignias. Division headquarters arrived in France 
May 18, 1918, and the division took a position southeast of Chateau 
Thierry sector as reserve of the Fourth Corps, with battle operations 
from July 15th to i8th and July 28th to 30th. It was in continuous 
heavy fighting from August 7th to September 8th. It also took part 
in the Argonne-Meuse ofifensive, as well as in the Thiaucourt sector. 
It captured 10 officers and 911 men, 16 pieces of artillery and 63 ma- 
chine guns. It lost 16,277 men in killed, wounded, and missing, in- 
cluding all reports up to May 15th. Distinguished Service Crosses 
were awarded to 58 of its members. 

TWENTY-NINTH DIVISION 

The Blue and Gray Division, the Twenty-ninth, is composed of Na- 
tional Guards of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, District of Co- 
lumbia, and Virginia. In this division are united sons of the North 
and South, fighting shoulder to shoulder against the common enemy; 
hence the name the Blue and Gray Division. Its mark is the Korean 
symbol of good luck, a circle bisected by two half circles, reversed and 
joined. One-half of the circle is of blue and the other of gray cloth. 
The division headquarters arrived in France June 27, 1918. Its' 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 599 

activities included the center sector of Haute Alsace and the Grand 
Montague sector, north of Verdun. This division captured 2,187 
officers and men, 21 pieces of artillery and 250 luachine guns. It 
made a total front-line advance of four and one-half miles. Its cas- 
ualties amounted to 6,159. Of its members 150 were honored with 
the Distinguished Service Cross. 

THIRTIETH DIVISION 

The thirtieth or Old Hickory Division has an insignia that is high- 
ly symbolical, but more of a national figure than a locality. This di- 
vision is made up of the National Guards of the Carolinas and Tenn- 
essee. Its mark is a monogram in blue of the letters "O" and "11," 
standing for "Old Hickory," the nickname of Andrew Jackson. The 
crossbar of the "H" contains the triple "XXX" the Roman numerals 
for thirty, the number of the division. The whole is on a maroon 
background. Division headquarters reached France May 24, 191 8, 
and the division was on the front in the canal sector south of Ypres, 
Belgium ; the Guoy Nauroy sector, with battle operations ; the Beau- 
revoir sector, with battle operations ; also the Le Chateau sector, with 
battle operations. It captured 98 officers, 3,750 men, 81 pieces of 
artillery, and 426 machine guns. It advanced about eighteen miles 
and sufifered 11,081 casualties and had 133 Distinguished Service 
Crosses awarded. 

THIRTY-SECOND DIVISION 

The Thirty-second Division boasts that it "shot through every line 
the Boche put before it." Its emblem, a flying red arrow with a bar 
across the middle, carries its point in serving as a sharp reminder of 
what it did. This division is made up of the National Guards of 
Michigan and Wisconsin. Its headquarters arrived in France Feb- 
ruary 20, 1918. It was active on the Alsace front, the Fismes front, 
the Soissons front. It fought in the battle of Juvigny, the Argonne- 
Meuse offensive at Dun-sur-Meuse and went with the Army of Oc- 
cupation. It captured 40 officers and 2,113 nien, 21 pieces of artil- 
lery and 190 machine guns. It made a total front-line advance of 
thirty-six kilometers, which is about twenty-two miles. Suffered 
13,884 casualties; 134 received Distinguished Service Crosses. 



6oo HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

TIIIRTY-THIRD DIVISION 

A yellow cross on a black circle is the emblem of the Prairie Divis- 
ion, the Thirty-third. The cross has long been used to mark the Gov- 
ernment equipment and is said to have had a terrifying effect upon 
the Philippine natives during the campaigns there. When this divis- 
ion, made up of Illinois and West Virginia National Guards assem- 
bled its equipment at its Texas training camp, yellow is said to have 
been the only paint to be had in the state to mark the equipment. 
This led to the adoption of this mark as the divisional insignia. Its 
headquarters reached France May 24, 1918. It fought in the Amiens 
sector with the Australians, and nineteen of its men received decora- 
tions from King George for helping the "Anzacs" capture Hamel, 
though uninvited. It captured 65 officers, 3,922 men, 95 big guns, 
and 414 machine guns. It advanced thirty-six kilometers, suffered 
9,253 casualties, and had the Distinguished Service Cross conferred 
on 76 of its members. 

THIRTY-FOURTH DIVISION 
The Thirty-fourth or Sandstorm Division trained at Camp Cody, 
New Mexico, where desert sandstorms were frequent. As its em- 
blem it chose the outlines of the Mexican olla, or water bottle, and 
the skull of a steer often found bleaching on the desert. The numer- 
als 34 and the divisional nickname are often included, although this 
is optional. The colors vary according to the unit. This division 
was originally made up of the National Guards of Iowa, Minnesota, 
Nebraska, and North Dakota, and included a good many Indians. 
Later it was filled out with selected men from New Mexico, Colorado, 
and Arizona. While waiting at Camp Dix before embarking for 
overseas it was filled to strength by the addition of many Eastern 
men. Several hundred of its men died during the influenza epidemic 
at Dix. Arriving in France, it was made a replacement division and 
had no battle operations as a division, although many of its men 
fought with other divisions at the front. 

THIRTY-FIFTH DIVISION 

The National Guards of Missouri and Kansas made up the Thirty- 
fifth Division. Its chosen emblem is the Santa Fe cross within two 
circles of varying colors, the outer one divided into four arcs. The 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 6oi 

design is historical and local, the old Santa Fe trail starting west- 
ward near the present Missouri-Kansas line. Division headquarters 
arrived in France May ii, 1918. The division got into the fighting 
in the north end of the Weserling sector in the Vosges, with Garibal- 
di subsector, the Gererdmer subsector, Argonne-Meuse offensive, and 
the Somme-Dieu sector. It captured 13 officers and 768 men, 24 
pieces of artillery, and 35 machine guns. Its total front-line advance 
was twelve and one-half kilometers, which is about eight miles. The 
Thirty-fifth had 7,854 casualties reported on the revised list of May 
15th. 

THIRTY-SIXTH DIVISION 

The National Guards of Texas and Oklahoma formed the Thirty- 
sixth Division, often called the "Lone Star" Division on account of 
the majority being Texans. Its divisional insignia is a cobalt blue 
arrowhead, upon which is placed the letter "T," the whole thing on 
a khaki circle. The arrowhead signifies Oklahoma, not so many 
years ago a part of Indian Territory; while the "T," of course, stands 
for Texas. The division trained at Fort Worth and its headquarters 
arrived in France July 31, 1918. It fought in the Blanc Mont sec- 
tor, north of Semme-Py, in the French Champagne offensive. It 
captured 18 officers and 531 men, 9 pieces of artillery and 294 ma- 
chine guns. Its total advance on the front line was a distance of 
about thirteen miles. It had 2,710 casualties. 

THIRTY-SEVENTH DIVISION 

A red circle with a white border designates the Buckeye Division, 
the Thirty-seventh, composed of National Guard of the Buckeye State, 
Ohio. This design is adopted from the state flag of Ohio. Division 
headquarters arrived in France June 23, 1918. Its activities includ- 
ed the Baccaret sector, the Argonne-Meuse offensive, Pennes, in the 
St. Mihiel sector, Lys and the Escaut River in Flanders, and the Syn- 
gem sector in Belgium. It captured 26 officers and 1,469 men, 26 
pieces of artillery, and zGt, machine guns. Its total advance on front 
lines was thirty and two-thirds kilometers, which is about nineteen 
miles. It suft'ered 5,923 casualties, wounded, killed, and missing; 
these casualty figures being as reported March 8th. 

THIRTY-EIGHTH DIVISION 
The emblem of the Cyclone Division, the Thirty-eighth, which is a 



6o2 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

shield of which the right half is blue and the left half red, necessarily 
shows here in red and black. Upon this shield are superimposed the 
letters "C" and "Y" in white, the "Y" being placed over the lower 
part of the "C." The division is made up of National Guardsmen 
from Indiana and Kentucky. Division headquarters arrived in France 
October 19, 1918. Overseas it became a replacement division, but 
many of the men of its units fought in the front lines when drawn to 
replace casualties in the combat divisions. 

THIRTY-NINTH DIVISION 

The red, white, and black bull's-eye target is the distinguishing 
mark of the Bull's-eye Division, the Thirty-ninth, composed of troops 
from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. This division went to 
France under Major General Henry E. Hodges, Jr., and became a de- 
pot division, being stationed at St. Florent until the end of November, 
1918. 

FORTIETH DIVISION 

This is known as the Sunshine Division, coming from the South- 
west. It is made up of the National Guardsmen of California, Ne- 
vada, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. Its emblem is a blazing sun of 
gold on a blue ground. This represents the noonday sun in a blue 
sky. Division headquarters arrived in France August 20, 1918. This 
division also became a replacement division and sent many of its men 
to the front to fight with other combat divisions. Division head- 
quarters were stationed at Revigny and St. Dizier at the close of the 
war. 

FORTY-FIRST DIVISION 
From the direction of the setting sun comes the Sunset Division, 
from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Wyoming. The Forty-first 
Division headquarters arrived in France January i, 1918. It was 
filled out with a good many Eastern men. It was one of the first di- 
visions to come home, and some of its main units were demobilized 
at Camp Dix. The insignia is a setting sun in gold on a red back- 
ground over a wavy blue stripe, representing the sun setting over the 
blue waters of the Pacific. The design was originated by a Red 
Cross nurse attached to Camp Hospital 26, at St. Aignan-Noyers. 

FORTY-SECOND DIVISION 

Probably the most famous division in France was the Forty-second, 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 603 

or Rainbow Division. It was made up of National Guard units from 
twenty-six different states and the District of Columbia. The first 
of the National Guard divisions to go to France, it made a gallant 
record in many actions. The insignia consists of a parti-colored 
quadrant, suggesting part of a rainbow. Division headquarters ar- 
rived in France November i, 1917. Its activities included the Dom- 
basle-Luneville-St. Clement-Baccarat sector; Souain and Esperance 
sector; holding the German push east of Rheims; Trugny and Beu- 
vardes in the Marne-Vesle drive; Anzauville, Essey, and Bois de 
Pannes in the St. Mihiel salient; south of St. Georges, Landres et 
St. Georges-Cote de Chatillon, in the Argonne-Meuse drive ; Autruche 
Grandes, Armoises, and Maisoncelle, south of Sedan. It captured 
14 ofificers, 1,303 men, 25 big guns, and 495 machine guns. Its total 
advance was thirty-four miles. It suffered 16,005 casualties and was 
awarded 205 Distinguished Service Crosses. 

SEVENTY-SEVENTH DIVISION 

Made up mainly of selected men from New York City and the south- 
eastern part of New York state, the Seventy-seventh is known as 
the Metropolitan Division. It has for its insignia a golden facsimile 
of the Statue of Liberty against a blue sky. The division trained 
at Camp Upton and division headquarters arrived in France April 
13, 1918. It was active in the Baccarat sector, the Fismes-Bazoches 
sector on the Vesle front ; La Harazee-Feur de Paris, Fille Morte 
lines, the ChampigneuUes line, and also the Aire-Meuse line in the 
Argonne-Meuse offensive. The famous "Lost battalion" of the 
Three Hundred Eighth Infantry was part of this division. It cap- 
tured 13 officers and "jT^y men, 44 pieces of artillery, and 2,2}^ machine 
guns. Its casualties amounted to 11,956. Distinguished . Service 
Crosses were awarded to 146 of its members. 

SEVENTY-EIGHTH DIVISION 

The Lightning Division, the Seventy-eighth, was trained at Camp 
Dix. Its shoulder insignia is a wide streak shooting from the upper 
right hand to the lower left. This division was made up of selected 
men from northern and western New York, New Jersey, and Dela- 
ware. This was a front-line combat division and fought in the Limey 
sector, St. Mihiel front. Grand Pre-St. Junin sector. In the Ar- 



6o4 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

gonne-Meuse advance the Lightning fought next to the French on 
the west end of the American sector. The Seventy-eighth captured 
9 officers, 392 men, 4 or more pieces of artillery, and 43 or more ma- 
chine guns. Its total front-line advance was twenty-one kilometers, 
or about thirteen miles. The reports to March 8th showed 8,159 cas- 
ualties. Ninety-five of its members received Distinguished Service 
Crosses. 

SEVENTY-NINTH DIVISION 

The Liberty or Seventy-ninth Division was made up of men from 
eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the District of Columbia and 
trained at Camp Meade. It -adopted the name of Liberty Division 
with the Liberty Bell as its symbol, but this was changed to a Lor- 
raine cross in white on a blue shield. The connection of the emblem 
with this division is not quite clear. This cross dates to the fifteenth 
century, being adopted by the House of Anjou as a sign of victory 
after the defeat of Charles the Bold. Headquarters arrived in France 
July 15, 191 8. It saw heavy fighting and in the Argonne-Meuse of- 
fensive took Montfaucon, known as the "German Gibraltar." It 
was active in the Grand Montagne sector and the heights east of the 
Meuse River. Beginning September 26th, it was in action almost 
constantly. It captured i officer, 391 men, 32 big guns, 275 machine 
guns ; advanced a total of twelve miles ; had 7,590 casualties, and re- 
ceived 80 Distinguished Service Crosses. 

EIGHTIETH DIVISION 

The Eightieth Division of the National Army is known as the Blue 
Ridge Division, the men being from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and 
West Virginia. Its insignia shows three blue hills, representing the 
Blue Ridge mountains, on a shield of olive drab, all outlined in white. 
Division headquarters arrived in France May 30, 191 8. Its activities 
included Avelup Woods, Arras, St. Mihiel salient and Bethincourt 
sector, and the Nantillois sector in the Argonne-Meuse offensive. It 
captured 103 officers and 1,710 men, 88 pieces of artillery, and 641 
machine guns. Its total front line advance was thirty-seven kilo- 
meters, about twenty-three miles. It had 6,763 casualties and the hon- 
or of the Distinguished Service Cross was conferred upon 42 of its 
members. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 605 

EIGHTY-FIRST DIVISION 

This division is composed of selected men from the Carolinas, Flori- 
da, and Porto Rico. It was blessed with officers who were keen on di- 
visional spirit and particularly strong on a snappy salute. They are 
credited with originating the system of division insignia, choosing 
as their own emblem the wild cat, or "bobcat," the fighting demon 
of the Carolina and Tennessee mountains, in a fighting pose. The 
cat is in varying colors, according to the different service. This 
organization landed in France beginning August 16, 1918, with its 
insignia prominently displayed. This and their precise salute attrac- 
ted wide attention: The Wildcat Division saw action east of St. Die 
and Raon I'Etape sector in the Vosges; Somme-Dieu sector and Ben- 
zee-en-Woevre. Its total front-line advance was aboiit three miles. 
It had 1,051 casualties and 19 members honored with Distinguished 
Service Crosses. 

EIGHTY-SECOND DIVISION 

The insignia of the letters "AA" in gold braid upon a circle of solid 
blue, the whole placed upon a square of red, is that of the Ail-Ameri- 
can Division, as the Eighty-second is known. Originally intended 
to be made up of selected men from Georgia, Alabama, and Tennes- 
see, it is said to have representatives from more states than any 
other excepting the Rainbow. It also includes a wide variety of na- 
tionalities, religions, and languages. Division headquarters arrived 
in France May 27, 1918. It was in battle line in the Lagny sector, 
and Marbache sector, at St. Mihiel, Baulney, Charpentery, Fleville, 
Chatel-Chehery, and La Viergette sectors in the Argonne-Meuse of- 
fensive. It captured 18 officers and 827 men, 11 pieces of artillery, 
and 311 machine guns. It advanced a total of ten and one-half miles 
and had a total of 8,228 casualties. Three hundred and forty of its 
members were awarded Distinguished Service Crosses. 

EIGHTY-SEVENTH DIVISION 

The Acorn Division, as the Eighty-seventh is known, is made up of 
selected men from Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It trained 
at Camp Pike, near Little Rock, Arkansas. Its insignia is an acorn 
of brown cloth on a green circle. Divisional headquarters arrived 



6o6 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

in France September 14, 1918, and the division was engaged in con- 
struction work at Pons-Saintes. It was on its way to the front when 
the armistice was signed. 

EIGHTY-EIGHTH DIVISION 

Selected men from North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Ilhnois 
formed the Eighty-eighth Division. The insignia is a design evolved 
from two figure "8s" crossed at right angles, forming a quatrefoil. 
In this way it represents not only the number of the division, but by 
its four leaves also the four states are included. Division headquar- 
ters arrived in France August 16, 1918, and the activities of the di- 
vision included the center of Haute- Alsace. It had 90 casualties. 

EIGHTY-NINTH DIVISION 

The Middle West Division is the name given to the Eighty-ninth, 
made up of selected men from Kansas, Missouri, and Colorado. Its 
insignia is the letter "W" in dark blue, surrounded by a circle of dark 
blue piping. The type of the "W" is such that, inverted, it looks 
like the letter "M," combining the two initials for the name Middle 
West. The "W" is also indicative for the names of the first three 
major generals who commanded the division, Leonard Wood, Frank 
L. Winn, and William M. Wright. Division headquarters reached 
France, June 21, 1918. It fought in the sector northwest of Toul, 
in the St. Mihiel salient, the sector from Etang de la Chausse to the 
Bois de Bonvaux, and the Argonne-Meuse drive. It captured 192 
officers, 4,869 men, 127 pieces of artillery, and 455 machine guns. Al- 
together, it advanced about twenty-three miles. Its casualties amount- 
ed to 8,813. 

NINETIETH DIVISION 

The Alamo Division, as the Ninetieth is sometimes known, is made 
up of selected men from Texas and Oklahoma. Its insignia is a red 
monogram of the letter "T" and "O," the initials of the two states. 
Division headquarters arrived in France June 23, 1918. The activi- 
ties of the division included the Sazerais-Hays-Luneville sector, the 
St. Mihiel salient operations, and the Argonne-Meuse ofifensive. It 
captured 32 officers and 1,844 men, 42 pieces of artillery, and 230 ma- 
chine guns. Its total front-line advance was twenty-eight and one- 
half kilometers, about eighteen miles. Its list of casualties is 8,010. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 607 

NINETY-FIRST DIVISION 

This division consists of selected men from Alaska, Washington, 
Oregon, CaHfornia, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, and Utah. 
It is known as the Wild West Division and had as its insignia a green 
fir tree. Division headquarters arrived in France July 12, 191 8. 
The Wild West men saw action in the Argonne-Meuse offensive and 
west of the Escaut River in Belgium. The division captured 12 offi- 
cers and 2,400 men, 33 pieces of artillery, and 471 machine guns. Its 
total front-line advance was thirty-four kilometers, which is about 
twenty-one miles. Its casualties were 6,496. 

NINETY-SECOND DIVISION 

The Ninety-second Division is composed of colored troops and is 
known as the Buft'alo Division, so called because, it is said, the In- 
dians called colored soldiers '"buffaloes." Its insignia is, naturally, 
a buffalo "rampant." The colors vary according to the arm of ser- 
vice. Division headquarters arrived in France June 19, 191 8. Its 
activities included the St. Die sector in the Vosges, the Argonne- 
Meuse offensive, and the Marbache sector. Its total front-line ad- 
vance was eight kilos, or about five miles. Casualties amounted to 
1,680. 

A Washington dispatch of November 11, 1919, gave the informa- 
tion that in the midst of the celebration of the anniversary of the sign- 
ing of the armistice, the tragedy of war again was emphasized by an- 
nouncement of a revised list of American casualties showing a total 
of 293,089. The list includes 34,625 killed in action, including 382 
lost at sea; died of wounds, 13,955; died of disease, 23,692; died of 
accident and other causes, 5,326; wounded in action, 215,489; missing 
in action, 2} 



1 It was the intention of the publisher to give the names of the men of Buena Vista 
County who had taken part in the various battles, following the story of each battle, but it 
was found that a few of the records were not entirely clear as to participation in battles so 
rather than give only a partial list we have not included any of the names. 



THE PART OF THE NAVY IN THE WAR 

The greater part of the sea work of this war had been largely in- 
visible to the general public. It was kept so for sound strategic rea- 
sons. Its failures rather than its successes have been revealed at the 
time. But it will become evident when the whole story shall be told 
that the superiority of the free nations in sea power was the decisive 
factor in foiling the Hunnish plot to rule and enslave the world. 
When the war began among the European countries the British navy 
was, nearly two to one, the most powerful on the seas. And it was 
ready as only the German war machine was ready on land. While 
it was admirably supplemented by the fleets of France and Italy, and 
in the last two years of the war by that of the United States, upon it 
fell the whole of one of the three great sea tasks of the war, and the 
heavier part of the other two. 

The tasks were : ( i ) Clearing the oceans of the German cruisers ; 
(2) the blockade of Germany, including the paralysis of the German 
high seas fleet; (3) guarding the transport of troops and supplies, 
including the battle with the German submarines and mines. 

Within twenty-four hours after the declaration of war Admiral 
Sir John Jellicoe was at sea with the British Grand Fleet and the 
blockade lid was set upon the German outlets to the oceans. The 
story of the more than fifty months' ceaseless watch of the North 
Sea must have a prominent place in the tale of the hunting of the 
Hun from all the outer waters of the world. 

The blockade had not only to bar the English Channel and keep 
safe the ferry to France, but also to cover the sub- Arctic waters north 
of the British Islands and up to Iceland. How effective it was may 
be judged from the fact that after the first week of the war the only 
supplies that came into Germany from overseas were smuggled 
through Holland or Italy, Denmark or Sweden. The German fleet 
could stand ofif the Russian in the Baltic and keep that traffic open, 
but that was all. 

The French fleets in the Mediterranean, aided by the Italians after 
the first 3'ear, were equally efficient in their work. Austria had a 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 609 

considerable naval force of modern ships, but it never got out of the 
Adriatic except under the surface. Austrian and German submarines 
committed their share of atrocities in the Mediterranean, aided by the 
treachery of the Greek Government until King Constantine was ex- 
pelled from the throne, but the Hun battleships never but once dared 
a standup fight with their foes. With all the Kaiser's claims to his 
people, he did not claim that the British blockade was ended. It con- 
tinued, and more stringent than ever. And, strange to relate, im- 
mediately after the engagement it became "inconvenient" to permit 
even the most patriotic Germans to gaze upon their "victorious" fleet. 
For months afterwards no civilian was permitted in the great naval 
port of Wilhemshaven. Until the end of the war the German fleet 
remained in port. 

The first summer of the war proved that the torpedo, plus the sub- 
marine, must be seriously reckoned with. The lesson was promptly 
learned that submarine infested waters must be patrolled by small 
and swift vessels, and that there could be no humane slowing up for 
rescue. The third great naval task of the war was dealing with the 
submarine. Its invention is contested between the Englishman Day 
and the American Bushnell. Day was drowned by his in 1774 and 
Bushnell made unsuccessful attacks with his upon British vessels dur- 
ing our War of Independence. Holland, an American, first made it 
practical. To the Hun was reserved the distinction of making it the 
synonym for wanton murder of the innocent. For a thousand years 
at least, the German, in every land, when he dares to boast of "civil- 
zation," must expect as a blow in the face the word "Lusitania." 

Curbing the Submarine 

When the war began the submarine was unproved as a war weapon. 
After its first successes against the British cruisers it had none of 
moment save those which the common consent of mankind outside of 
"kultured" Germany has adjudged piratical. It warred with success 
only upon the weak and defenseless. Its assigned role in the Hun 
scheme of world conquest was to starve out England. It failed and 
worse than failed. 

The U-boat "f rightfulness" convinced the American people that there 
could be no safety for any nation anywhere on earth vmtil the Hun 
was smashed. While it would be unwarranted boasting to say that 



6io HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

without the aid of the United States the free nations of Europe must 
have lost and the Hun must have won — Germany was never in sight 
of real victory while the British navy held the seas — ^yet it is evi- 
dent that the participation of the United States shortened the war and 
saved the allies from anything in the nature of a compromise with 
the Hun. 

For military reasons all the measures taken in dealing with the sub- 
marine have not yet been revealed. As usual, necessity quickened in- 
vention. It was discovered that airplanes flying over the seas could 
locate submarines under the surface. The seagull in its search for 
food betrayed them. They were entangled in nets swept between two 
vessels over their suspected lurking places. It is said that great steel 
nets barred against them the British Channel entrance to the Atlantic, 
and drawn across the straits of Otranto confined them to the Adriatic. 
Apparently helpless fireighters with concealed guns and bombs enticed 
them to destruction. As they could move only slowly under water, 
the American invention of the depth bomb aided their destruction. 
British ship yards built as never before to replace the losses they 
caused. 

The .American Navy in the War 

Slow in arising to the truth that the Hun must be finally smashed 
on land in Europe, the United States had no great army prepared 
when on Good Friday, 191 7, its government resolved the Hun out- 
rages and insults could no longer be endured. But its navy was 
ready. In size it stood only fourth or fifth, but in efficiency its was 
second to none. No American will soon forget the thrill of pride he 
felt when the word came back from England that the first destroyer 
fleet had arrived, and the answer given to the inquiry, "When can 
you put to sea?" 

Admiral Sims's answer was, "Now." After threshing through 
3,000 miles of sea his destroyers were ready to go out and fight. 

Henry E. Reese of Alta, in the following gives an interesting ac- 
count of the participation of some of our ships with the Grand Fleet: 

At Historic Scapa Flow 

On November 25, 1917, the Wyoming, in company with three other 
U. S. battleships, steamed out of Hampton Roads, so far as the crew 
knew, under sealed orders. We weren't at all sure where we were 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 6ii 

going; we were far from positive we would ever get there, and we 
didn't know what we would be up against if we did arrive. But half 
way over it came out that we were headed for Scapa Flow, that mys- 
tery base in the Orkney Islands, and the idea of a winter in the lati- 
tude of 59° north didn't appeal strongly to the most of us. We were 
soon informed, however, that Scapa was much warmer than New 
York in winter and cooler all summer — but there was no doubt about 
the darkness and storm. 

The trip was far from being pleasant, as we had six days of ex- 
tremely rough and stormy weather. Reports from the /navigator 
showed that in two days we did not gain five miles. We were sepa- 
rated from the other ships and could not communicate with them, for 
our wireless had been carried completely away. As the seas became 
calmer this was repaired and the ships were finally reassembled the 
day before we entered the war zone. The morning of the twelfth 
day out brought us in contact with British destroyers which led us 
past northermost Scotland, through Pentland and Firth into Scapa 
Flow, where we found a warm welcome from the mightiest of all 
naval forces, the British Grand Fleet. From there the Battleship Di- 
vision 9, U. S. Atlantic Fleet, became Sixth Battle Squadron, Grand 
Fleet, and we were in the war at last. 

Ten days at Scapa and we moved to Rosyth, England, with the 
British Fifth Battle Squadron — twenty-five knot, oil-burning bat- 
tleships of the Queen Elizabeth class, all veterans of Jutland, the corri- 
mander-in-chief himself leading us down. We made the 300 miles at 
eighteen knots, which is not remarkable, but so did a flotilla of sub- 
marines — and that made us take notice. 

At Rosyth we were given liberties to Edinburgh, Lieth, and several 
smaller towns, but liberties were short, for the fleet was under a con- 
stant notice for four hours' steaming orders, and if the Germans had 
been reported out from their base the orders would have been cut down 
to two hours or less, and that meant no liberty at all. 

About the middle of January we returned to the storm and gloom 
of Scapa, where we began our turn at convoy duty, escorting mer- 
chant ships to and from Norway. They would usually send fifty or 
sixty ships in each convoy. These trips gave us new ideas in endur- 
ance and discomfort — standing watches of four on and four ofl^, zig- 
zagging steadily at eighteen knots; fog, storm, and the North Sea, 
plus a big coaling the instant we got back to the base. 

There were very few hours of daylight here and the Germans used 
this to advantage by coming from their base under cover of the dark- 
ness to attack convoys and patrols, so it kept the fleet on the job day 
and night. We encountered U-boats only on two trips all during the 



6i2 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

summer, and though a good many shots were fired no one was certain 
as to their effect. 

In April we went into dock at New Castle-on-Tyne, England, and 
after five months of restrictions on board ship a leave seemed mighty ' 
good to all of us. After a fifteen-day repair period we again moved 
to Scapa for full-charge mail-battery target practice. We were given 
a new game here — convoying the U. S. mine layers, planting that 
great mine barrage across the North Sea. Again there were hopes 
to tempt the enemy out, but the world knows there was only one time 
when we ever saw the Hun ships. 

We did have just a little excitement one night in October. We 
were at Scapa for a twelve-inch practice, and in addition to the Sixth 
Battle Squadron there were a few British light cruisers and four old 
battle cruisers of the New Zealand class. There was wild haste to 
get to sea, when the message came from patrols saying: "Enemy 
ships heading for Pentland Firth at high speed, trying to escape into 
Atlantic to raid shipping." 

Battle stations were manned at 2 a.m., and no sleep for anyone the 
rest of the night. Daylight found us in the Atlantic searching — and 
every one hoping for a chance to justify his existence as a fighter. 
The raiders were never found. After that the war sort of flickered 
away until it finally went out altogether. 

Armistice night was like a college football celebration in the fleet. 
King George reviewed the fleet and went aboard the American ships. 

Then at last we did meet the High Seas Fleet — on surrender day 
— and escorted it into the Firth of Forth. That ended the war as 
far as we were concerned. The censors laid off; rumors of going 
home worked day and night with a great deal of help from official 
sources. Many suggested plans died yovmg, but finally after a fare- 
well party given by the Grand Fleet we left Rosyth for good. We 
steamed into Portland, England, to grant leave, and here Admiral 
Sims came aboard with his staff. 

On December 13th we arrived off the coast of France, met the 
George Washington with President Wilson aboard, and escorted him 
into the harbor of Brest. We did not stay here long, but carried 
Admiral Sims and Mr. Davis (the American ambassador to Great 
Britain) back to Plymouth. Here we coaled to capacity and on the 
evening of the 14th steamed out of the bay, every one happv at the 
thought of being homeward bound after more than a 3'ear in Euro- 
pean waters. 

Teamwork At Home and Abroad 

Teamwork had been the navy's slogan for five years, and its per- 
fect operation has given proof of the wisdom of the insistence upon 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 613 

the whole organization working in harmony with a common spirit., 
Thoroughly imbued with this principle in time of peace, the navy, 
during the great war, has given a shining demonstration of its capa- 
city for the teamwork so essential to victory. 

Throughout its enormous expansion since the beginning of the war, 
the enlarged naval force has kept this vital factor always in mind. 
The navy at home has shown its capacity for teamwork in cooperating 
with the army, the war industries board, and the many other govern- 
mental activities already established and the new ones wisely created 
for the successful prosecution of the war. Abroad, the American 
navv has given a demonstration, which can be characterized only as 
wonderful in its readiness to join with our associates in teamwork for 
the common end and the common good. 

The outstanding accomplishment of the navy abroad in this war, 
outside of rigorous and valorous service in the danger zone, has been 
the character and degree of cooperation and practical consolidation 
for the time being of our service with those services with which we 
have been associated. The navy, beginning with the arrival of the 
first ship abroad, has stood out for unity of command, even though 
this in some instances involved sacrificing temporarily something of 
our identity as an independent service. This was not an easy task. 
It is believed to be a safe statement that the degree of accomplishment 
of our service in this respect is without precedent in allied warfare. 

Seventy-five Thousand Men Overseas 

War was declared on April 6, 19 17. On the 4th of May a detach- 
ment of destroyers was in European waters. By January i, 1918, 
there were 113 United States naval ships across, and in October, 1918, 
the total had reached 338 ships of all classes. At the end of the war 
there were 5,000 officers and 70,000 enlisted men of the United States 
navy serving in Europe, this total being greater than the full strength 
of the navy when the Uniled States entered the war. 

As an illustration of the work done by the United States naval ves- 
sels in the war zone, our ships steamed 626,000 miles per month. This 
does not include troop ships, transports, cargo carriers, or miscellane- 
ous merchant vessels flying the American flag, constantly plying 
through the war zone. Nor does it include cruisers or battleships 
engaged in overseas escort duties. 



6i4 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

The destroyers upon their first arrival were based on Queenstown 
which was the base of the operations of these fast fighters of the sub- 
marines during the war. Every facihty possible was provided for the 
comfort and recreation of the officers and men engaged in this most 
rigorous service. 

More than 2,000,000 Troops Carried Overseas 

American and British ships have carried over 2,000,000 American 
troops overseas. The United States did not possess enough ships to 
carry over our troops as rapidly as they were ready to sail or as quick- 
ly as they were needed in France. Great Britain furnished, under 
contract with the War Department, many ships and safely transport- 
ed many American troops. A few troops were carried over by other 
allied ships. The actual number transported in British ships was 
more than a million. 

Difficulties of Convoy 

That it was difficult to always maintain unity of convoy travel is 
shown in the story of Corporal George C. Barnes of Providence Town- 
ship, who wrote as follows concerning his trip overseas: 

On the night of May 11, 1918, we put to sea from New York har- 
bor with a large convoy, but after being at sea four days engine 
trouble developed, so the commander of the convoy gave our ship 
orders to return to Halifax, Novia Scotia. After getting such re- 
pairs as were necessary we put to sea again with another convoy, and 
this time succeeded in making our destination. But we had plenty 
of excitement. On June 2d we were attacked twice by submarines, 
but thanks to the good work of the destroyers the entire convoy made 
the trip in safety, and we landed at London. 

In addition to duty performed by destroyers and other escorting 
vessels, the extensive naval activities of our battleships with the Brit- 
ish Grand Fleet, mining units, patrol units, submarine hunting, mine 
sweeping, salvage, etc., were many and varied. 

When the submarine chaser flotillas were sent overseas it was de- 
cided to route them via the Bermudas and the Azores in order to get 
them across materially fit and with the personnel in fighting trim. 
Having formulated the plan of getting our chasers across it was nec- 
essary to secure for them certain base facilities on the way over. To 
that end negotiations were entered into with the Portugese whereby 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 615 

we received from them the use of a temporary base at Pont Delgada 
in the Azores. 

The coal used by the American Expeditionary Forces in France 
was carried to that country in vessels largely officered and manned 
by the navy. 

The destruction of tankers carrying oil to our own ships and the 
British fleet in the North Sea gave much anxiety, and in order to 
avert the submarine menace in sending the tankers around the north 
of Scotland it was determined by the American and British navy to 
build a pipe line across Scotland. Our naval experts undertook the 
big task, and thereby reduced the distance and danger of supplying 
the fleet with oil. 

In order to efficiently cooperate with our allies, United States naval 
port officers have been stationed at twenty of the principal seaports 
of Great Britain, France, and Italy. Fifteen naval bases were es- 
tablished. 

In connection with aviation, two repair and assembly bases, 4 kite 
balloon stations, 18 seaplane stations, 5 bombing plane stations, and 3 
dirigible stations have been estaljlished and manned with navy per- 
sonnel, which includes 624 officers, 97 observers, and over 15,000 en- 
listed men. 

More than 50,000 American mines were laid in strategical areas 
in European waters. The navy took part in and actually laid eighty 
per cent of the great mine barrage, 230 miles long, from Scotland to 
Norway. A total of 56,439 mines have been laid, all of which were 
designed and manufactured by the United States and transported and 
laid by the United States navy. The total personnel engaged in min- 
ing activity alone was upward of 6,700 men. 

Distinguished naval officers of allied nations regarded the presence 
of the Atlantic Fleet, fit and ready, 3,000 miles from the seat of war, 
as one of the most potential factors in the naval strength. 

Operations — At FIome and Abroad 

The operations of our navy during the World War have covered the 
widest scope in its history. Our naval forces have operated in Eu- 
ropean waters, from the Mediterranean to the White Sea. At Corfu, 
Gibraltar, along the French Bay of Biscay ports, at the English Chan- 
nel ports, on the Irish coast, in the North Sea, at Murmansk and 



6i6 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Archangel, our naval forces were stationed and did creditable work. 
Their performance will probably form the most interesting and ex- 
citing portion of the naval history of this war, and it is the duty 
which has been most eagerly sought by all of the personnel, but owing 
to the character of the operations which our navy has been called to 
take part in, it has not been possible for all of our naval forces, much 
as they desired it, to engage in operations at the front, and a large 
part of our work has been conducted quietly but none the less eiTec- 
tively in other areas. This service, while not so brilliant, has still 
been necessary, and without it our forces at the front could not have 
carried on the successful campaign that they did. 

Naval Engagement at Durazzo' 
Edgar H. Benson, radio operator on the U.S.S. Chaser 215, tells 
below of this engagement : 

On the morning of October 2, 1918, and for the first time in the 
world, American ships fought in the Adriatic. The whole Italian 
fleet, aided by American submarine chasers and French and British 
destroyers, bombarded the harbor and town of Durazzo, Albania. 

The principal work of the submarine chasers was to protect the 
larger craft from submarines. 

About 10:30 a.m. a submarine was sighted by the U.S. Submarine 
Chaser 215. At approximately the same time another one was sight- 
ed by another chaser in the unit (three chasers being a unit). These 
were attacked and sunk by depth bombs. 

At 12:30 the shore batteries were silenced and the fleet steamed 
homeward. Behind, the Austrian sea base was nothing but a heap 
of smoking ruins ; its port a cemetery of sunken ships. 

On the land, marines and sailors have helped to hold strategic 
points, regiments of marines have shared with the magnificent army 
their part of the hard earned victory, a wonderfully trained gun crew 
of sailors have manned the monster fourteen-inch guns which marked 
a new departure in land warfare. In diplomacy, in investigation at 
home and in all parts of the world by naval officers and civilian 
agents, in protecting plants and labor from spies and enemies, in pro- 
moting new industrial organizations and enlarging older ones to meet 
war needs, in stimulating production of needed naval craft — these 
are some of the outstanding operations which marked the heroic 
year of accomplishment. 

1 Edgar H. Benson received an Italian citation for his part in ttic above engagement. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 617 

Submarines 

Thomas B. Patten of Alta writes that he was in the gun crew on 
the S.S.Huah Jah, a Chinese ship of the U.S.A.T.C. He adds: "We 
had four different fights, got two of the U boats. We had a 6 in. 50 
and a 6 pounder. Got one in eleven shots. I made six trips on the 
Huah Jah." 

Naval Operating Forces — Fighting Craet 

The employment of the fighting craft of the navy may be summed 
up as follows : 

1. The escorting of troop and cargo convoys and other special 
vessels. 

2. The carrying out of offensive and defensive measures against 
enemy submarines in the western Atlantic. 

3. The assignment to duty and the dispatch abroad of navy ves- 
sels for operations in the war zone in conjunction with the naval 
forces of our allies. 

4. The assignment to duty and operation of naval vessels to in- 
crease the force in home waters. 

5. The dispatch abroad of miscellaneous craft for the army and 
the protection of these craft enroute. 

6. The protection of vessels engaged in the coastwise trade. 

7. The salvaging and assisting of vessels in distress, whether from 
maritime causes or from the operations of the enemy. 

8. Protection of oil supplies from the Gulf. 

As enemy activity has been confined principally to the North At- 
lantic and European waters, it necessitated the concentration of our 
purely naval forces in these waters. 

Naval Overseas Transportation Service 

On January 9, 1918, the naval overseas transportation service was 
established, owing to the foreseen necessity to expeditiously supply 
the naval forces in foreign waters and to assist the army if necessary 
with their tremendous task of trans])orting and supplying the Ameri- 
can Expeditionary Forces in France. This organization sprang into 
being almost over night. 

At the outbreak of the war the lack of an American merchant ma- 



6i8 HONOR ROLL OP BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

rine was immediately felt. The United States Shipping Board was 
authorized, and the vast task of creating a merchant marine was un- 
dertaken. The United States was without a sufficiently large trained 
merchant marine personnel, as the seagoing population of this coun- 
try was small compared to that which followed the pursuits on shore. 
The naval overseas transportation service grew in ten months to a 
fleet of 321 cargo-carrying ships, aggregating a dead- weight tonnage 
of 2,800,000, and numerically, nearly equal the combined Cunard, 
Hamburg-American, and North German Lloyd lines at the outbreak 
of the war. This vast fleet of cargo vessels was officered and man- 
ned through enrollment of the seagoing personnel of the American 
merchant marine, officers and men of the United States navy, and the 
assignment after training of graduates of technical schools and train- 
ing stations, developed by the navy after the United States entered 
the war. 

Anti-Submarine Devices 

The Navy Department of the government was keenly appreciative 
of the necessity of employing every effort to develop devices witih 
which to combat the enemy's submarine operations. An experimental 
station was established at New London, Connecticut, and many 
scientists of unusual attainments were assembled there in connection 
with the experiments and development of devices for detecting sub- 
marines. The naval activities at New London embrace also a sta- 
tion for assembling and installing various devices developed and 
training the personnel for the efficient employment of such devices 
afloat. 

Naval Communication Service 

The scope of the duties of the naval communication service were 
greatly enlarged to provide an efficient, workable system for hand- 
ling all communications with men-of-war, to provide the necessary 
codes and ciphers to insure secrecy, and to promulgate regulations to 
insure the proper receipt of orders by all vessels of the navy. This 
service placed all radio communication with merchant vessels in the 
Atlantic Ocean, the Carribean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico upon a 
military basis. The expansion of the code and signal section has 
necessarily been great. This section not only supplies men-of-war 
but all merchant ships in the Atlantic with codes and ciphers. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 619 

Growth of Radio System 

The navy operated all coastal and high-power radio stations after 
the start of the war. The high-power radio service of the navy made 
great progress during the year. On the Atlantic Coast the navy com- 
pleted its new high-power station at Annapolis, Maryland, in addi- 
tion to those already in service. At the end of the war it was possible 
to transmit messages simultaneously from four high-power radio sta- 
tions to European stations and at the same time receive dispatches 
from several European stations. 

The naval communication service cooperated with the State Depart- 
ment and the committee on public information in the broadcasting of 
information of advantage to the United States to all parts of the 
world by high-power radio. An interesting part of this service was 
the transmission each night of a news dispatch entitled "Home stuff." 
This included short news items from many American cities. The 
dispatch was received simultaneously in France and England, and 
was posted in all Y.M.C.A. huts and other places where our men in 
foreign service congregated. 

Censorship of the cables was efficiently conducted by a well coor- 
dinated organization, whose officers and men attacked a difficult task 
with ability and zeal. 

The exigencies of war imposed new and important duties upon the 
office of naval intelligence. During the war its duties abroad in- 
creased many fold ; at home it did a most important work in protect- 
ing naval and other plants making war material, preventing sabot- 
age, and in keeping an eye on alien enemies or others with a destruct- 
ive propensity. A staff of vigilant and discreet confidential officers 
and civilians was on the alert to ferret out spies and other dan- 
gerous characters and secure their arrest. The guarding of our 
ships while in port and the guarding against the danger from enemy 
agents among the passengers and crews on both our trans-Atlantic 
and coastwise ships were largely performed by the office of naval 
intelligence. 

Big Transport Fleet Had to be Created 

At the time of the declaration of war by the United States the mil- 
itary situation was such that safe transportation across the Atlantic 
of troops and supplies had become a problem of pressing importance. 



620 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Previous to 1914 the idea of a United States overseas expeditionary 
force numbered by millions would have been generally regarded as a 
remote if not impossible contingency. Consequently, no extensive 
peace-tmie preparations had been made for such an undertaking. 
The task of providing a transport fleet was, therefore, a pioneer work. 
Ships had to be obtained, officers and crews provided. Also it was 
necessary to provide docks, storehouses, lighters and tugs, coaling 
equipment, repair facilities, and all the varied machinery for operat- 
ing and maintaining a large transportation service. An efficient ad- 
ministrative organization had to be developed. 

The successful development of anti-submarine tactics in the Atlan- 
tic is an achievement of the United States navy. In this work the 
cruiser and transport force cooperated with the destroyers, converted 
yachts, and other anti-submarine craft on duty in the east Atlantic. 

Strategy required the cruiser and transport service force to operate 
with utmost secrecy. Convoy duty was not spectacular, but it de- 
manded endurance, constant vigilance, and devotion to duty of the 
highest order under circumstances of the most trying and arduous 
nature. After the first of November, 191 7, there were 289 sailings 
of naval transports from American ports. In these operations of the 
cruiser and transport force of the Atlantic Fleet not one eastbound 
transport was torpedoed or damaged by the enemy, and only three 
sunk on the return voyage. 

. Naval Losses Caused by Submarine 

After this country entered the war practically all the enemy's naval 
forces, except the submarines, were blockaded in his ports by the naval 
forces of the allies, and there was no opportunity for naval engage- 
ments of a major character. The enemy's submarines, however, 
formed a continual menace to the safety of all our transports and ship- 
ping, necessitating the use of every effective means and the utmost 
vigilance for the protection of our vessels. Concentrated attack was 
made by enemy U-boats on the ships which carried the first contin- 
gent of our troops to Europe, and all that went after faced this liability 
to attack. Not one American ship, as was previously stated, was 
torpedoed on the way to France, and but three, the Antilles, the Presi- 
dent Lincoln, and the Covington, were sunk on return voyage. 

Only three fighting ships have been lost as a result of enemy action 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 621 

— the patrol ship Alceclo, a converted yacht, sunk off the coast of 
France November 5, 191 7; the torpedo-boat destroyer Jacob Jones, 
sunk off the British coast December 6, 1917; and the cruiser San Di- 
ego, sunk near Fire Island, off the New York coast, on July 19, 1918, 
by striking a mine supposedly set adrift by a German submarine. The 
transport Finland and the destroyer Cassin, which were torpedoed, 
reached port and were soon repaired and placed back in service. The 
transport Mount Vernon, struck by a torpedo on September 5, 1918, 
proceeded to port under its own steam, and was repaired. 

The most serious loss of life due to enemy activity was the loss of 
the coast-guard cutter Tampa, with all on board, in Bristol Channel, 
England, on the night of September 26, 1918. The Tampa, which 
was doing escort duty, had gone ahead of the convoy. Vessels fol- 
lowing heard an explosion, but when they reached the vicinity there 
were only bits of floating wreckage to show where the ship had gone 
clown. Not one of the 1 1 1 officers and men of her crew were rescued ; 
and though it is believed she was sunk by a torpedo from an enemy 
submarine, the exact manner in which the vessel met its fate may nev- 
er be known. 

Loss OF THE Collier "Cyclops" 

There has been no more baffling mystery in the annals of the navy 
than the disappearance in March, 1918, of the U.S.S. Cyclops, navy 
collier of 19,000 tons displacement, with all on board. Loaded w^th 
a cargo of manganese, with 57 passengers, 20 officers, and a crew of 
213 on board, the collier was due in port on March 13th. On March 
4th the Cyclops reported at Barbados, British West Indies, where she 
put in for bunker coal. Since her departure from that port there has 
not been found a single trace of the vessel. 

BURNING OF THE OPHIR 

Written by Lael DeLand, of Storm Lake. 

October 18, 1918, I received orders for duty on the U.S.S. Ophir, 
a former Dutch ship, previously used as a combination transport and 
cargo ship, but for the trip I shall relate she was used for cargo only. 
Hardly had the tugs left us at the mouth of the Hudson, ready to put 
to sea, when the steering gear broke down. We were towed back and 
lay at anchor for three da3's in repair. We put to sea for the second 
time October 24th, with a crew of 128 instead of 160, and twenty offi- 
cers instead of twenty-three. Just outside the harbor we joined a 



622 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

convoy of fifty-three ships. Ahnost the entire day was spent by each 
ship maneuvering to gain her assigned convoy position, and that even- 
ing we got under way in column six deep and nine wide. Through- 
out the day submarine chasers and destroyers, aeroplanes, observation 
balloons, and large dirigible balloons played an important part guid- 
ing the millions of dollars this convoy represented. In the afternoon 
warnings were received of a submarine operating dead ahead of where 
we were to go. That night about lo o'clock I was awakened by a 
most terrible crash and quivering of the ship. Everyone rushed to 
the boat deck, thoroughly expecting to return to New York in life- 
boats, but it was soon found that the ship was taking no water and 
that she was secure. We had rammed something; that was certain; 
but what it was will always remain one of the mysteries of the sea, 
although it is the general opinion we had rammed the submarine 
which had two oil tankers to its credit for that day. 

The evening of the second day, the Santa Cecilia, Pedro Galvi, Ed- 
ward Luckenbach, and ourselves left the large convoy and struck out 
south'ard for the Mediterranean Sea. The rest of the convoy was 
bound for the Bay of Biscay. You may imagine the state of mind 
our crew were in on this ship, with her holds filled with 130,000 gal- 
lons of high test gasoline, 60,000 gallons of oil, barrel upon barrel of 
trench gas compounds, aside from 200 rounds of ammunition in the 
fore part of the ship for the four-inch gun, 200 rounds of ammunition 
aft for the six-inch gun, and 1200 pounds of TNT for depth mine 
charges, stowed over the bulk of the gasoline. In addition to this 
were fourteen auto trucks and 175 bales of army clothing stowed with 
the oil. Can you imagine a cargo of anything more likely to make an 
undertaker smile? But at this time it was surprising to find how 
light everybody made of our danger. A man with a life preserver 
was ridiculed because if a torpedo should hit this hellish cargo, what 
good would a life preserver be? We slept in our clothing, except for 
shoes and coats. For sixteen days I was in my clothes day and night. 
Every ship steamed in total darkness. Not only did we sviffer the 
discomfort of sleeping in our clothing, but we had to endure a stuffy 
room with no ventilation. 

The Ophir was the flagship of the four vessels, which gave her ab- 
solute command over the others. The fourth day out, four more of 
the officers and thirteen of the crew were all sick with the "flu," and 
no doctor aboard. The Saint Cecilia was rolling very heavily because 
her cargo had shifted. This necessitated the other ships to slow 
down and remain with her. The rendezvous in our orders required 
certain danger zones to be passed on definite days at certain times of 
the day, but because of the Cecilia slowing us all down, to follow the 
rendezvous would be impossible. Everything was going wrong. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 623 

Hardly a day passed that the alarm for submarines was not sound- 
ed two or three times. But each calami had been false. Things be- 
gan to look a little brighter until one morning, at 6:45, the alarm was 
turned in. We all went to our stations. (I was in charge of the six- 
inch gun on the poop deck, and my gun crew already had five subs to 
their credit when I came aboard. ) It seemed a whale had been sight- 
ed, but its spouting did not appear entirely natural and it continued 
to come in the general direction toward the four ships. Hardly was 
it abreast of us when a torpedo was seen whizzing through the water, 
but missed us completely. The other three ships struck out in as 
many directions; we hauled hard to starboard, bringing the sub di- 
rectly over our stern. The four-inch gun forward by this time had 
put in a shot, but now everything depended upon our speed against the 
subs and the accuracy of the six-inch gun crew. By this time the 
subs had submerged, and it was fully five minutes before we got any 
trace of it. Suddenly it came to the surface a little to the right about 
one thousand yards away. The six-inch belched out a ball of fire but 
was a complete miss. Down went the sub, coming up dead on our 
stern again. Boom! And the boys had put in a hit. What a hit 
we did not know, but Mr. Sub hauled to starboard, moving very slow- 
ly as if disabled — just what we wanted. Now we had the entire 
length of him for a target. The distance was gradually stretching 
out between us. The fourth shot from this position told the story. 
Boom ! A tense second, then an indescribable splash on the water. 
That was the end. At 7:12 one of Bill's pet machines and occupants 
went down to Davy Jones's locker. You should have heard the crew 
shout and yell. Signals were sent out and the four ships again formed 
their convoy. 

We continued the journey past the Maderia Islands to Gibraltar, 
where we put in for coal. Saturday afternoon we hove anchor, 
bound for Marseilles. Coming out on deck Sunday morning, on the 
way to breakfast, I observed the coast was on the opposite side from 
where we saw it the day previous, but thought very little of it until 
I had been in the dining room a few minutes. I then knew something 
was radically wrong. There was not the usual joking about being 
blown into eternity by our cargo. Everyone was quiet and more or 
less glum. Then I was told that the ship was on fire. With all that 
gasoline, oil, gas, and TNT and powder ! 

In the forward hold was 500 tons of coal for reserve which had 
been there for two months. To this we laid the beginning of the fire 
which was discovered that morning at 7:45. Immediately the ship 
was headed about to make the run back to Gibraltar. We were 
seventeen hours out when the fire was discovered and made the re- 
turn in twelve hours. Coming through the straits that evening we 



624 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

passed directly over the spot where the Britannia was torpedoed and 
seventy-three men killed less than an hour later. Not an officer turned 
in for sleep Sunday night; there was something for everyone to 
do. Monday morning it seemed the fire was gaining a little, so water 
was turned into the hold in hopes of flooding it. 

At 12 o'clock noon I left the fire to take my usual watch on the 
bridge. At 1:15 a wireless stating that hostilities had ceased came 
in. We forgot there was such a thing as a fire. All hands were 
called to the quarter deck, where the captain read the message. The 
fog whistles were blown, the siren whistles were blown, the bells rung 
madly. Such was the case aboard every one of the 250 or more ves- 
sels lying in the harbor. 

By 5 o'clock in the afternoon everything around the deck near the 
fire was too hot to put one's hand upon, though at 6 o'clock it seemed 
that we were getting the best of the fire and a lull naturally followed. 
It then occurred to me I had had no sleep for thirty-five hours, so 
after eating I turned in. Hardly had my head touched the pillow 
when there came the most blood-curdling, unearthly, death-dealing 
explosion I ever hope to hear. Luckily I had not undressed. Throw- 
ing open my door and giving about two jumps I was at the foot of 
the companion way, bound for my lifeboat on the poop. Already 
nearly all the crew were there. Hardly had I mustered them, when 
the fire alarm was sounded. Every man went to his station. This 
gave me a chance to see what really had happened. The hatch had 
been closed perfectly tight to avoid draft. When I got up forward I 
could see that the hatch and parts of the deck had been blown into a 
million pieces. Six by six timbers had been snapped in two as a 
mere toothpick or match. One of the ventilators caught in the rail- 
ing about sixty feet up. Although men were working around there 
when the explosion came no one was seriously hurt, although sever- 
al were badly bruised and cut. 

The hatch now being gone, the fire had a good draft, and it was 
not long until the coal bunkers which had just been filled with 1,300 
tons were ablaze. These coal bunkers led aft towards the bulk of 
the gasoline in. hold No. 3, and the TNT. So the aim now was to 
check the spread of the flames. The only two fire tugs in the har- 
bor came alongside, furnishing eight leagues of hose which were 
immediately played on the fire. By this time the smoke was terrible, 
more like choking fumes than smoke, pouring out from the hold in 
great black clouds. The wind was just right to carry the smoke 
from one end of the ship to the other. There was not a cubic inch of 
the entire vessel that was not laden with smoke. At 10 o'clock there 
was just one thing to do — beach the poor Ophir and flood her. 

Every few minutes there would be an explosion with more or less 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 625 

violence and no one knew what minute she might go up in one big 
explosion. This was what the captain was trying to avoid; 10:20 
found her beached, but still a mile and a half from shore. Up to this 
time it had not been discovered that there were no sea cocks in the 
bottom of the ship to flood her, and the only other means was by hose. 
At midnight I took the bridge again. The firemen had stuck to their 
work that we might have light until a little after 11 o'clock. The 
water was over their knees by then, so they hauled the fires and came 
up. B}^ 2 o'clock the steam was exhausted, the lights were out, and 
the ship was in total darkness except for the little light from the flames 
sifting through the dense smoke. By tying handkerchiefs over our 
noses, my two quartermasters and myself were able to stay on the 
bridge where we could look right down into the No. 2 hold — a de- 
mon, smoking hell. 

At 2:15 one of the quartermasters went under with too much smoke 
on his lungs. Two officers had already succumbed. At 2 :45 great 
roaring flames broke through the smoke and the men with gas masks 
fighting around the hole had to drop their hose and get away. 

At 2:55 came an explosion greater than the first one, blowing the 
remainder of the deck right and left. A great torrent of burning 
sparks and splinters rained down on the bridge. Volunteers had 
gone to the fo'cas'le head, ready to put the ammunition overboard if 
it became necessary. This explosion now practically cut them oft' 
from the rest of the ship. The captain came on the bridge and 
through the megaphone ordered all powder overboard and for these 
men to get off the ship as best they could. Next the order to abandon 
ship was given, and the crew and some of the officers took to the fire 
tugs which were still alongside. 

At 3 :30 the tugs shoved off, leaving eight Officers still aboard, to 
see if possible that no one was left unwarned, or injured. Then while 
waiting for the tug to come back for us we put what ammunition 
there was on the poop deck overboard and made ready the after mag- 
azine containing 150 rounds of powder and shells, that it might be 
flooded by the tug's fire hose. The fire was raging by this time, 
burning in the cabins, but had not yet reached the vitals of the infer- 
nal gas, gasoline, and TNT. 

Finally a tug came, the hose was led out and the magazine flooded, 
but before this was done small explosions began at regular intervals 
and four or five flaming barrels of oil shot back over the tug. The 
master of the tug, who was a "bally Englishman," got cold feet as 
each explosion shot a ball of fire in the air. He pleaded with tears 
in his eyes for us to cut his tug loose from the ship "To 'ell with 
the bloody powder !" he said. Just what possessed the captain at 
this time we do not know, but he asked me to go below and see if all 



626 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

the dead lights were closed in the crew's mess hall. This was no time 
to argue. At the foot of the companionway I stepped into water up 
to my knees. Everything was pitch dark and down in here each ex- 
plosion sounded ec^ual to a volcanic eruption. By the aid of matches 
I made my way forward into the mess hall. Furniture, I imagine, 
was strewn all over the room. Making my way along the port side, 
inspecting each deadlight, I was crossing the room at the extreme 
forward end, nearly waist deep in flood water, w'hen an unusual ex- 
plosion came. I would not have given two whoops in Halifax for 
my chances to see land again just at that time. It was not until that 
afternoon that I had a chance to get dry clothes on, which resulted 
in a few days sickness in the barracks. 

The magazines now flooded, the captain made sure that all his offi- 
cers were accounted for, saw us all safely aboard the tug, then came 
on himself. It was a sad parting when we pulled off leaving the 
poor old Ophir and left her to her destruction that Tuesday morning. 
She had been a home — a happy ship. 

Never will I forget the beautiful, yet pitiful sight, she made as we 
viewed her from the shore twenty-five minutes later. The large 
drums of oil were now going up in rapid succession. Each barrel 
sent up an almost perfect ball of fire, set in a background of black, 
dense, curling smoke. Each explosion followed by a dull sort of 
roaring boom. 

Breakfast and some much needed sleep were our next hope, but 
fate was still against us. After trying five hotels, each one unable 
to accommodate any of us, we found an officers' Y.M.C.A. Not a room 
did they have either, but offered to let us clean up and to feed us. 
This was gladly accepted, and my praise for their hospitality cannot 
be exaggerated. Upon our departure they would not accept a penny, 
saying they were only sorry there was not more they could do for us. 

The crew had taken refuge aboard the U.S.S. Buffalo. A muster 
was taken, showing seven men unaccounted for. The officers report- 
ed to the admiral at lo o'clock for orders, and after the usual navy 
red tape 2 p.m. found us located in British prison barracks, about 
1,000 feet up the rock. This was the only place that could be found 
for us. Here we were to remain until a vessel homeward bound 
came into port for us. O, boy! Fifty-five hours without a wink of 
sleep ! I never enjoyed the finest feather bed in all my life as I did 
that old cot with no springs, but iron slats and excelsior cushions 
instead. 

Tuesday noon five of the seven missing men were accounted for. 
They had been struck in the fo'cas'le head where the big explosion 
came at 2:55 that morning. Others were with them but made a run 
for it successfully through the flames. Some took a lifeboat they 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 627 

found alongside. Others were taken off by a small launch. Two of 
the survivors told of themselves, who with another, had been trapped 
iu a room. He had become crazed with the smoke and could not be 
induced to leave the room. This poor boy's fate was later learned, 
but the tragedy is too horrible to relate. 

Two other lads found their only means of escape was through a 
blazing hot chain pipe. Thus they saved their lives, for the price of 
severe burns. The last seen of the second missing man is related by 
some of the lads who ran through the flames. He said the missing 
man was following closely on his heels when they left their room 
and an explosion separated them. His charred bones were found 
three days later. 

Throughout the entire day after the ship was left to her fate, ex- 
plosions of more or less violence occurred at irregular intervals. The 
harbor was kept clear of all sea-going vessels during this time, for 
the inevitable big explosion of the TNT and gasoline in the after hold 
.had not yet occurred. About 1 1 o'clock Tuesday night the farthest 
dwelling up the rock was nearly lifted from its foundation and morn- 
ing found the shores strewn with dead fish from the concussion of the 
explosion. Poor old Ophir ! This explosion ripped her stern wide 
open, and there she lay, never to float again. 

Friday we were dismissed and received orders to report aboard 
the Japanese ship Awa Maru to take us back to the States. Enroute 
home we ran into a storm which tossed us about for three days, dur- 
ing which time we did not sit down to a meal. It was all we could do 
to hold to the table with one hand and eat with the other. 

Tuesday we came to anchor in the States — and to say everyone 
was glad to get back to God's country is putting it mildly. 

New Ship Construction 

During the year of greatest activity to meet the war program the 
energy available for new construction was concentrated mainly upon 
vessels to deal with the submarine menace. Three hundred and fifty- 
five of the iio-foot wooden submarine chasers were completed. Fa- 
cilities of the existing destroyer-building yards were expanded and 
150 destroyers were completed. The large Ford automobile manu- 
facturing plant was offered for the erection of a steel sea-going anti- 
submarine patrol boat of a new type which was designated as the 
"Eagle." Orders were placed for 112 of these, and delivery had just 
begun before the armistice was signed. Ships launched during the 
year and up to October i, 191 8, include i gunboat, 93 destroyers, 29 
submarines, 26 mine sweepers, 4 fabricated patrol vessels, and 2 sea- 



628 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

going tugs; while the total of additions to the navy reached into the 
hundreds. 

Camouflage was adapted to navy use by a system known as "dazzle 
painting" — the vessel being painted in an apparently grotesque and 
bizarre manner for the purpose, not of rendering it invisible, but ren- 
dering it difficult for the submarine commander, peering through his 
periscope for a few seconds at a time, to determine the course of the 
vessel. While not always effective, there is no doubt that dazzle 
painting is a palliative against submarine attack. 

The question of salvage of vessels damaged by mines or torpedoes 
was a very acute one abroad and also important along United States 
coasts. The Navy Department took over many of the vessels and 
much of the equipment engaged in coast salvage work and sent one 
unit abroad. 

An Engineering War 

It is a truism to say that, both on land and sea, this was very large- 
ly an engineering war. Electric propulsion worked a revolution in 
ship driving. As so often before, American ingenuity and inventive 
skill led the world in propelling machinery of battleships. 

Repair of German Ships 

When war was declared with Germany all the German ships lying 
in our ports were immediately taken over by our government. Upon 
examination it was found that the machinery of all of them had been 
deliberately damaged by their crews. The principal damage was the 
breaking of cast-iron parts of the main engines, which, under mari- 
time regulations, would require replacement with newly cast parts. 
As a result of investigations, orders were issued to make all repairs 
when possible by electric welding and to resort to mechanical patch- 
ing only where welding was impracticable. Electric welding was 
well known, but its application on such an extensive scale was unpre- 
cedented, and all the vessels could be made ready for service probably 
a year before they could have been if the cylinders had been removed. 
So well and so successfully were the repairs accomplished that there 
was not a single instance of a defective weld, nor did one develop dur- 
ing the months of arduous service on which those ships were engaged. 
Larger dry-docks were built wherever necessary. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 629 

Notable Achievements in Ordnance 

One of the great achievements of the navy was the design and con- 
struction of fourteen-inch railway mountings, affording a larger 
piece of ordnance than had ever before been carried on mobile mount- 
ings. The first gun was shipped from the United States June 20th, 
was ready to fire the last week in August, but did not go into action 
against the enemy until September i6th in the vicinity of Laon, from 
which time this gun with its sister guns was engaged in firing against 
German bases far behind the eneni}- lines and hitherto completely be- 
yond the reach of the allied artillery. 

The outstanding anti-submarine project was the closing of the North 
Sea by a mine barrage extending from the Orkney Islands to the ter- 
ritorial waters of Norway, together with a barrage across the Straits 
of Dover. A new type of mine was required to meet the conditions 
of depth found in these waters. 

A star shell which could be thrown out from the ship and yet which 
did not disclose the location of the ship, as did the searchlight, was 
another development of the war. A substitute for TNT was origina- 
ted, and a non-coil gun for aircraft designed to meet the needs of this 
new agency of warfare. Merchant ships were protected by in- 
creased armament, and a further means of protection devised through 
smoke concealment. The naval gun production kept pace with war 
needs ; depth bombs were proven the most effective anti-submarine 
weapon, and great strides were made in torpedo production. 

When it was realized that aircraft had come to stay a factory was 
established at Philadelphia ; factories of non-essential industries were 
utilized for the making of parts ; while it became necessary to recruit 
the personnel from auto factories and machine shops. 

Navy As An Educational Institution 

The educational policy of the navy can be expressed in a few words. 
It is a policy based not on theory but on the demands of an age that 
can hardly be misinterpreted. The seamanship of the future is de- 
pendent on the increasing utilization of the data of science, whether 
in mechanics, chemistry, physics, electricity, marine engineering, or 
naval construction. Experimentation and adaptation, discovery and 
invention, readiness to "scrap" the outworn, the willingness to try the 
untried, must go hand in hand with a growing navy. The new de- 



630 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

mands, however, do not imply multiplication of studies so much as 
greater thoroughness in the fundamentals. Science is one, though 
its branches are many. 

Training of Navai, Officers 

Written by F. L Stringer of Storm Lake, Ensign, United States 
Naval Reserve Forces. 

Shortly after the United States entered the World War a sub-or- 
ganization of the navy developed. This branch was known as the 
United States Naval Reserve Force, the chief purpose of which was 
for the supplying of crews for the manning of the many coast patrol 
boats, destroyers, cargo and troop ships. This service was really 
Uncle Sam's merchant marine. 

In this branch of the service men were enlisted for the usual four 
years but to serve only for the duration of the war, and if necessary 
for six months after peace should be signed. Men who had sufficient 
education to qualify for officers' training were selected by competitive 
examination. 

Then length of the course of training was fixed at four months, 
during which time the first two months were to be spent at sea for 
practical training and two months at a school for theoretical instruc- 
tion. The two months' cruise was spent either on the Great Lakes or 
on a coastwise vessel, cargo ships being the main type of training ves- 
sels. Each person was put on his own initiative with the result that 
the amount of stud}' and work done depended upon his own ambitions. 
After completing the sea training men were taken off the ships and 
given examinations for ratings. If the cruising was done on the 
Great Lakes the examinations were given at Cleveland or Chicago, 
but if the training was on a coastwise vessel -examinations were given 
at New York. Qualified men were then sent to school to complete 
their officers' training, the principal school being located at Pelham 
Bay, New York, and at that place the training was most intensive. 

Men were kept busy studying and drilling from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. 
daily with the exception of Sunday. Liberty was then granted. Ex- 
aminations were generally held Monday, which came to be designated 
as "Elimination Day," because it only took one flunk to be put out of 
the school. At the end of eight weeks those remaining- in the school 
who successfully passed their examinations were given commissions 
as ensign in the United States Naval Reserve Force. 

Recent changes in the laws have made possible the enrollment of 
additional men to the Naval Academy until the number under train- 
ing just after the war reached 2,210. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 631 

A revision of rules was effected to give ofificers of the same rank 
the same title so there would be no distinction. 

The increased enlistment required a larger staff of doctors, dentists, 
nurses, and hospital corps. The number of doctors was increased 
from 327 to 3,074; dentists from 30 to 485; women nurses from 160 
to 1,400; members of the hospital corps from 1,585 to 14,718. The 
best men in the medical profession abandoned their practice and en- 
tered upon duties more exacting. 

The Business Side op the Navy 

Of all the many ways in which the navy has contributed toward 
victory in the great World War, the furnishing of supplies to our 
own forces and to the allies 3,000 miles away was the most important. 
To the doctrine that "the only difference between the peace and war 
formation ought to be the increased magnitude of the latter, and the 
only change in passing from the former to the latter should consist 
in giving to it augmentation which will then be necessary," the navy 
has held fast, preparing carefully beforehand, so that, when the test 
of war came, there was no need for hurried reorganization, there 
taking place instead merely an increase in volume accomplished by 
orderly expansion along the lines already studied out in detail and 
well tmderstood through years of successful practice. 

The greatest total volume of supplies bought in any one pre-war 
year was $27,000,000, the greatest one day's war purchases being 
over thirty millions — this resulting from the increase of the enlisted 
force from 55,000 to more than 500,000, with the needs of all ships 
and stations being correspondingly developed. 

The fleet during one year was supplied with over 4,000,000 tons of 
steaming coal, over 4,500,000 barrels of oil fuel, and approximately 
11,500,000 gallons of gasoline. The navy's supply of coal at certain 
points, particularly in New England and in New York, assisted in 
preventing much suffering on the part of the people during the un- 
usually severe winter. 

Marine Corps Wins Glory 

This efficient fighting, building, and landing force of the navy won 
imperishable glory in the fulfillment of its duties upon the battlefields 
of France, where the Marines, fighting for the time under General 



632 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Pershing as a part of the victorious American army, have written a 
story of valor and sacrifice that will live in the brightest annals of the 
war. With heroism that nothing could daunt, the IMarine Corps 
played a vital role in stemming the German rush on Paris, and in 
later da3'S aided in the beginning of the great offensive, the freeing of 
Rheims, and participated in the hard fighting in Champagne, which 
had as its object the throwing back of the Prussian armies in the vi- 
cinity of Cambrai and St. Quentin. 

With only 8,000 men engaged in the fiercest battles, the Marine 
Corps casualties numbered 69 officers and 1,531 enlisted men dead, 
and 78 officers and 2,435 enlisted men wounded seriously enough to 
be officially reported by cablegram, to which number should be added 
not a few whose wounds did not incapacitate them for further fight- 
ing. Official reports account for only fifty-seven United States Ma- 
rines who were captured by the enemy, those who were wounded far 
in advance of their lines and who fell into the hands of the Germans 
while unable to resist. 

Orders to prepare for action at the front reached the Marines on 
Memorial Day, and they went into action which took them into the 
battle of Chateau Thierry, the fierce hand-to-hand fighting in Belleau 
Woods, into the contest for the St. Mihiel salient and later the cap- 
ture of Blanc Mont Ridge. 

In Haiti and San Domingo the Marines helped in the work of 
road building, sanitation, and development, keeping in order the few 
remaining law-breakers. Many of them were trained in Cuba. Many 
have been used in guarding naval plants, navy yards, munition works, 
radio stations, and like works of protection. An aviation section of 
the Marines developed in this new feature of warfare. 

United States naval activities in Europe are chiefly matters of co- 
operation with the allied navies, and the cooperation amounted prac- 
tically to consolidation where effected with the British navy. 

It could hardly have been foreseen to what extent United States na- 
val activities would accumulate, and it is a fact that it was a growth 
by accretion rather than by system. The resultant fact is that the 
supervision of the commander of the United States naval forces in 
Europe was of great and varied scope, continuing to increase from 
week to week. Despite the great extent and varied character of our 
naval activities in Europe and the fact that their gpowth by accretion 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 633 

made a highly centralized control more or less inevitable, the results 
speak for themselves — all of our naval activities are cooperative in 
character and all of them give every evidence of performing useful 
and appreciated work wherever found. 

Cooperation with the allied navies in general was effected by means 
of the Allied Naval War Council, composed of the several naval min- 
isters and naval chiefs of staff and officers specifically appointed to 
represent them in their absence. Vice Admiral Sims was the United 
States naval representative. The secretariat of the council was com- 
posed of British officers and personnel, with officers of the allied navies 
designated for liaison duties therewith. 

The Allied Naval Council had advisory functions only and liaison 
with the Supreme War Council, with a view to coordinating and uni- 
fying allied naval effort, both as regarded naval work only and as 
regarded unity of action with military or land effort. The Allied 
Naval Council continued to fill a great need as a sort of clearing 
house for the necessarily varied proposals of the several governments 
most of which required cooperation on the part of some other govern- 
ment. 

Inasmuch as the British were predominant in naval activity, it is 
natural to find that a major part of our naval activities were in co- 
operation with them and controlled by them. In fact, the British 
were in position to carry so much of the "naval load" of the war that 
our first and principal efforts were toward taking up a share of the 
load. Cooperation has in many cases been carried to such an extent 
that the coordination necessary for efficiency developed into practi- 
cal consolidation. 

Cooperation With the French 

It is deemed worthy of remark that whereas practically all coopera- 
tion with the British was effected by operating as units under Brit- 
ish control, cooperation with the French was arranged on a basis that 
left to the United States naval forces a very large measure of initia- 
tive. This was particularly true with regard to the troop ships des- 
tined to French ports, which were provided with escort, and routed 
in and out wholly from the Brest headquarters which was kept fully 
informed as to routes and positions of British-controlled convoys and 
as to locations of submarine activities, and had to so adjust route on 



634 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

and off the coast as to keep clear of both. Three out of eight escort 
units were provided by United States vessels for the coastal system, 
which was operated by the French. 

Toward the end of the war United States naval forces in France 
were stated to have been escorting troops into France at the rate of 
134,000 per month. After May i, 1918, the number of troop ships 
and cargo vessel convoys east and west bound averaged more than 
one a day, and the number of ships over 200 a month. No convoy 
of troop ships failed to be met by destroyer escort before entering the 
area of submarine activity, and no passenger entrusted to the care of 
the United States naval forces in France has been lost. 

The United States naval repair facilities here as well as elsewhere 
on the coast of France had to be made use of not only for the upkeep 
of the United States naval vessels based on the coast, but also for 
necessary repairs to troop ships and cargo vessels, whether naval, 
army, or Shipping Board, the guiding idea being to keep the ships 
moving. 

Arrangements and facilities for caring for the sick and injured 
navy personnel were almost more than ample. In many of the naval- 
base hospitals the majority of the patients were, consequently, of 
other services — both the United States and the Allies. The provis- 
ions of the United States navy in this respect were so complete in their 
facilities and so efficient in their readiness as to excite the admiration 
of foreign services. 

Impressions of Germany 

Written by Everett J. Evans of Linn Grove, whose duties required 
him to journey to the German border to take up the tasks of the Army 
of Occupation. The story was written before the writer had been 
discharged from naval service; and after his comprehension of affairs 
had been broadened by observation of five capital cities of foreign 
countries. 

Our trip through northern France and part of Belgium gave us an 
idea of how the Hun carried on his warfare. In some villages I 
would see old people out with a pick and shovel digging the salvage 
away so they could find passage way into their former homes, which 
were so precious by reason of the fact that they had housed many suc- 
ceeding generations of a family. Though the homes were a complete 
ruin the owners sought some relic of their former life. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 635 

Bombed and shelled tracks left conditions which made progress 
slow on the famous Paris-Brussels express, though giving us time 
to view the devastated country. 

The big surprise came to us when arriving in Brussels. The Ger- 
mans held the city for over four years as you already know. Well, I 
expected to see a good sample of starving Belgium, but instead found 
Brussels a lively city with plenty to eat. I imagine the food comes 
from the good old U.S.A., for it resembles our own food more than 
any I have found. Cold and hungry, we would have been gratified 
with a cup of black cofifee, but they brought out five slices of buttered 
bread, with a large platter of sliced ham, and coffee with sugar and 
cream. That kind of stuff was new, that's all ! We stayed there 
all the next day, leaving the third -day. Believe me, we did some 
feasting. If we had known the scarcity of food in Germany we would 
have carted some along. Cherry pies cost us ten francs, each franc 
the equivalent of eighteen cents. 

The train from Brussels to Charleroi, Belgium, looked like the Ger- 
mans had used it for transporting artillery. With nothing left of 
the seats but the springs we would hunt a board and make a spring 
seat out of that. We had time here to look over this village. There 
were so few passengers on the train on which we were to take ou'r 
departure that we four navy gobs and two army field clerks piled 
into an ofificers' car and got the first good sleep we had had for four 
nights. A mess cook supplied us with bread and marmalade. When 
it became cold toward evening we had to roll up in the blankets avail- 
able, regardless of the cooties. When we awoke in the morning we 
found that the train had stopped at Cologne, Germany, at the line of 
the British sector of occupation of the Rhine. It was here that we 
had the opportunity to cross two different ways over the Rliine. I 
happened to visit the grand cathedral just as a marriage ceremony 
was being performed, which reminded me of that little ballad : 
For they declare 
There are sights over there 
That we haven't on old Broadway. 

After spending an hour viewing the cathedral I can readily con- 
ceive why it took years to construct such a building. 

The day or two that we spent there waiting for transportation to 
Berlin we would have starved but for the "canned bill" the British 
gave us. But we made it a hilarious occasion for it was the first 
German town we had been in. Then I found out that my knowledge 
of the German language which I had acquired at Buena Vista College 
had become rather rusty. However, we managed to buy some post- 
card views, etc. Every place I have visited I have purchased views 
for a collection I am making. Already I have been in the capital 



636 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

city of five foreign countries, but I'm ready to leave for the United 
States any time I get the word. 

The train we took from Cologne to Berlin was well heated, smooth- 
riding, and fast. On this train we had several spectators who gave 
us the once over — sometimes twice. When they learned that we 
were Americans we usually got a reception; though they were con- 
fused by the resemblance of our uniform to that of the British — and 
the friendship between the British and Germans is none of the best 
just now. 

Our duties began the day after we arrived in Berlin. To our sat- 
isfaction the work was rather light, making it convenient for us to 
look over the city. It at once became evident to me that the German 
army had been preparing for forty years. One can readily see by 
the expression on the faces of a majority of these people who was 
responsible for the crime. Still, it is the political life of the country 
which feels most severely the effects of the war. Her people are 
troubled, especially as to merchandise supplies, and it is amusing to 
hear the stories of those who can talk English. They look with con- 
fidence to the United States to send them food. I'll admit the food 
is scarce in Berlin, but through the country districts the supply is not 
so low. The portion of farming district through which we passed 
is well cultivated and looks like good land. But it is politics that will 
decide Germany's future. Don't think for a minute that I am sympa- 
thizing with the Germans, for I certainly am not after seeing what 
she has done in northern France and in Belgium, and what she tried 
to do to the United States. But I am only stating the fact which I 
saw while with the Military Mission to Germany. 

The Bolshevists troubled us none, but if any of us were stopped by 
any such party we could pull out a card of identification and a safe- 
guard pass written in the German language and signed by a member 
of the Reichstag. 

Some Berlin inhabitants seemed very curious and acted as though 
they wanted to know just who we were; while others, especially those 
who talked "American English," would recognize our uniforms and 
immediately converse with us. But none of them succeeded in get- 
ting the desired information, for we had been instructed just how far 
to carry our conversation. The city was quiet during our stay, 
though one evening we heard sounds of a distant riot. Then the 
Berlin papers predicted an early revolution. Their election of a 
president doesn't seem to settle matters much. We were quartered 
at the Hotel Esplanade. A proof of the shortage of woolens and cot- 
tons was apparent in the use of paper for table linens, while the table 
cloths and napkins were used for sheets. 

After talking with a German sailor I learned why mutiny prevailed 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 637 

in the German navy. They are one class of people who by chance 
got an opportunity to see other countries besides "der Vaterland," and 
became wise to the fact that one-man rule was far from justice. 

On our return trip to Paris, via Aletz, through Alsace and Lorraine, 
we saw buildings of the medieval age and every village filled with 
statuettes of saints, though most of the human beings showed evidence 
of the predominance of the military caste. Passing through the Am- 
erican sector we saw soldiers who, though drilling in the snow, looked 
comfortable if not happy. A glad smile came on their faces when 
they caught sight of a sailor, thinking he might give them an idea of 
when they might embark for the United States. At Trier, near 
Metz, we located a Red Cross canteen and a taste of white bread and 
good coffee. After finding out where we had been and how difficult 
it was to get something to eat the Red Cross nurse in charge ordered 
something extra that we could take on to the train. Believe me, I 
have a heart for that organization. We rode the 220 miles to Paris 
in twenty-four hours, in a car that was heated like an ice box. From 
Paris we were transferred to Brest, supposedly to return to the 
U.S.A. — but no such luck; Fm still working for Rear Admiral Hal- 
stead. 

Surrender op German High Seas Fleet 

Written by George B. Eginton of Storm Lake, seaman second class, 
United States Naval Reservve l^orces, U. S. S. Texas. 

Germany as a naval power ceased to exist on November 21, 1918, 
when the heart of her mighty fleet surrendered to an armada of Brit- 
ish, American, and French vessels. 

The minutely detailed program of submission laid down by Admiral 
Sir David Beatty, commander-in-chief of the Grand Fleet, was car- 
ried out strictly according to plan. The German war ships, strung 
out in a single column almost twenty miles long, appeared at the 
rendezvous at the appointed time, and were led into the Firth of Forth 
between twin columns of Allied ships which overlapped the Germans 
at each end. 

A surrender on such a gigantic scale has no precedent in naval 
history. Although the wonderful naval spectacle was the same as a 
peace time review and evoked little enthusiasm, American and Brit- 
ish officers and men could scarcely credit the evidence of their eyes. 
It was an event which shattered all naval traditions and ideals. Men 
animated by the spirit of Lawrence's "Don't give up the ship," and 
Nelson's "England expects every man to do his duty," could not con- 
ceive of such an inglorious fate as that to which the enemy sea force 
was submitted. "Even the poor old Spaniards, knowing they had not 
a chance, came out of Santiago." 



638 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

The arrangements for this great ceremony were made November 
1 8th. On that day the German Hght cruiser Konigsberg preceded to 
a rendezvous off the Firth of Forth. She had on board the German 
envoys charged with the duty of receiving the AlUes' orders. They 
were Rear-Admiral Hugo Meurer, with a staff among whom were 
a Zeppelin commander and a submarine commander, and four dele- 
gates from the Workmen's and Soldiers' Council. The Konigsberg 
was met at the rendezvous by the fast British destroyer Oak, which 
acts as tender to the Queen Elizabeth, the flagship of Admiral Sir 
David Beatty. Admiral Meurer with his staff at once went on board 
the Oak and proceeded to Rosyth, where they immediately went into 
conference with Admiral Beatty in his cabin on the Queen Elizabeth. 
The conference continued late into the night, when it was interrupted, 
to be continued the next morning, and not until evening had all in- 
structions been given and all arrangements made, when the German 
officials started on their return journey. 

We on the Texas were very anxious to witness the arrival of the 
German envoys for this conference, but the dense fog which was 
hanging over us and which lasted several days prevented this and we 
were forced to be content in reading the reports we received each day. 

From this time on the Grand Fleet breathed a quickening, electri- 
fying air, and you could detect its invigorating virtue in the half- 
stifled excitement of the men with whom you came in contact. The 
anticipation of surrender day grew almost hour by hour as messages 
flashed hundreds of miles through the air to and from the German 
High Seas Command. On November 20th, as scraps of news passed 
from mouth to mouth, the atmosphere of eagerness grew even more 
intense. 

Early in the afternoon a notice was posted which deserves to be 
put on record. It read as follows : 

Relations with the Germans / 

"The following is a copy of a memorandum issued by the Com- 
mander-in-chief, Grand Fleet: 

"(i) It is to be impressed on all officers and men that a state of 
war exists during the armistice. 

"(2) Their relations with officers and men of the German Navy 
with whom they may be brought in contact are to be of a strictly 
formal character. 

"(3) In dealing with the late enemy, while courtesy is obligatory, 
the methods with which they waged the war must not be forgotten. 

"(4) No international compliments are to be paid and all conver- 
sation is forbidden, except in regard to the immediate business to be 
transacted. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 639 

"(5) If it is necessary to provide food for German officers and 
men they should not be entertained, but it should be served to them 
in a place specially set apart. If it is necessary to accept food from 
the Germans a request is to be made that it is to be similarly served." 

In the evening another notice was posted setting out the time-table 
for the routine of sailing, leading up to "action stations" at g 
o'clock. Here came the significant reminder that "immediate readi- 
ness for action was to be assumed," and definite instructions with re- 
gard to the position and training of turrets and guns. The Grand 
Fleet was to meet ' e German Fleet at 9:40, approximately, the next 
morning. 

It was generally known that by the terms of the armistice the Ger- 
man ships were to be unarmed and manned only by navigating crews, 
but the navy does not believe in taking vmnecessary changes. Treach- 
ery was not expected, but all was ready to blow the German ships out 
of the water should any trick be attempted. What was feared most was 
a stunt by a submarine manned entirely by officers. They might easily 
have gotten a couple of our ships before being done in themselves. 
Any battle squadron if attacked had orders to scatter, and the rest of 
the line to continue as if nothing had happened. 

That night the Grand Fleet lay at its moorings in the Firth of Forth. 
Above the bridge were battleships, destroyers, and submarines, and 
conspicuous among them was the French armored cruiser Admiral 
Aube, flying the flag of Rear Admiral Grasset, which with two de- 
stroyers represented the French navy in the final act of the great drama. 
Below the bridge were battleships, battle cruisers and light cruisers, 
and here a prominent place was taken by the squadron of fine Amer- 
ican battleships, known while operating with the British Grand Fleet 
as the Sixth Battle Squadron. The New York, flying the flag of Ad- 
miral Rodman, with Admiral Sims and his stafif on board ; the Texas, 
Arkansas, Wyoming, and Florida. Canada was above the bridge with 
the First Battle Squadron. Australia and New Zealand were below 
with the Second Battle Cruiser Squadron. Throughout the night the 
flagship was in touch with the German Fleet, noting its program 
toward the place of rendezvous. 

At 3 :35 a. m. the Sixth Battle Squadron, led by the New York, 
began to move. The fog had lifted after five days, and the lower air 
was clear, but clouds hid the moon and stars and made the night 
dark. Silently through the darkness ship followed ship down to the 
open sea, an ominous, awe-inspiring procession of black shapes, each 
indistinctly silhouetted against the sky and canopied with a smudge 
of smoke. The Texas passed May Island at 6:18, steaming at a 
speed of seventeen knots. By daybreak the Grand Fleet was at sea 
and in the gray morning mist the squadron took up position in two 



640 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

columns in single line ahead. The northern line was composed as 
follows : 

First Light Cruiser Squadron, less Phaeton (four ships). 

Sixth Light Cruiser Squadron, less Cardifif (four ships). 

First Cruiser Squadron (two ships). 

Lion and First Battle Cruiser Squadron (four ships). 

Fifth Battle Squadron ( four ships). 

Sixth Battle Squadron (five ships). 

Second Battle Squadron (nine ships). 

Queen Elizabeth, flagship of Admiral Beatty. 

Fourth Light Cruiser Squadron (five ships). 

The southern line, on a parallel course six miles away, consisted 
of the following: 

Third Light Cruiser Squadron (four ships). 

Second Light Cruiser Squadron (four ships). 

Furious. 

Minataur. 

Second Battle Cruiser Squadron (five ships). 

First Battle Squadron (nine ships). 

Fourth Battle Squadron (five ships). 

Seventh Light Cruiser Squadron (four ships). 

Between the lines were the King Orry, Blanche, Boadicea, Fear- 
less, and Blonde to act as repeating ships. 

The Cardiff, towing a kite balloon, the Phaeton, Castor, Champion, 
and flotillas had proceeded in company well ahead of the First Light 
Cruiser Squadron in time to arrive in position at the place of rendez- 
vous at 8 o'clock. One destroyer was detailed to each flagship and 
maintained a position five cables on the outer beam of their respective 
flagship as soon as the fleet came into the cruising order outlined. 

Navigation lights were burned while leaving the harbor and until 
sunrise. Daybreak revealed an icy mist and choppy sea, ideal for 
U-boats. About 8 o'clock the sun showed its rim through a rift in 
the slate-grev clouds, and here and there in the sky the greyness of 
lead melted into the light shades of blue and brick red, but a haze 
still hung over the water, confining the vision to perhaps five or six 
miles. At 8:04 our battle ensigns were hoisted on high for the first 
time during the war. Every man on deck was straining his eyes 
now through the murky haze, scanning the horizon for the appear- 
ance of the enemy ships which they knew were somewhere away off 
in the distance. 

The official program began toward 9 o'clock when a screen of de- 
stroyers, then the leader of the pageant, the light cruiser Cardifif, 
came up with the enemy forty miles east of May Island. At 8:46 
the signal was received on the bridge of the Texas that the German 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 641 

Fleet had been sighted by the Second Battle Squadron. One minute 
later the big gongs rang out proclaiming "general quarters," and men 
lost no time in getting to their "battle stations." Decks were cleared 
for action. Turrets and guns were kept in securing position, but free. 
Guns were empty, but with cages up and ready for ramming home. 
Directors and armored towers were trained on, and correct range 
and deflection were kept set continuously on the sights. Had a sin- 
gle suspicious move been made by the enemy it would have taken us 
just forty seconds to fire our guns. U-boat watch was mounted, and 
the mystic anti-mine device, the Paravanes, were swung out from the 
bow of the ship. Every precaution in fact was taken against treach- 
ery. 

An hour passed and the sun rising in the heavens began to tinge 
the skv with gold. And all the time we had not yet seen the enemy. 
Presently, three, four, or five miles away on our starboard bow there 
came into view a sausage balloon being towed by the Cardifif. At 
first it was a mere speck in a grey mist with a slight smoke trail 
stretching out below. Then behind the Cardiff there emerged from 
the murk the first of the German ships. At three miles range they 
appeared to be little more than slowly moving silhouettes. On com- 
ing abreast of the German Fleet the Grand Fleet turned together by 
squadrons 180° outwards, assuming positions just the reverse of that 
previously retained. 

Between the lines came the Germans lee' ' • the Cardiff, while over 
them flew a British naval airship. As the l. A^llied lines drew in 
we could begin to distinguish the different types of the enemy's ships. 
First came the battle cruisers, headed by the Seydlitz, which carried 
the scars of the Dogger Bank battle of January, 191 5. The Moeltke 
and the Hindenberg followed, then the Derfilinger, also battered in 
the Dogger Bank engagement, and finally the Von der Town, which, 
according to report, sufifered heavily in the naval air raid on Crux- 
haven. On either side moved the Fearless and the Blonde in their 
former stations. The nine battleships followed at intervals of three 
cables. The five ships of the Kaiser class came first, then the Bayern, 
and then three Konigs, but in what order within the classes could 
not be told. A mile and a half astern was the King Orry and again 
at the same interval the Phaeton, of the First Light Cruisers. The 
Castor, flying the flag of Commodore Tweedie, Commodore of the 
flotillas, led the forty-nine German destroyers, surrounded bv nearlv 
150 British destroyers. One German destroyer was sunk by a mine 
on her passage across the North Sea. 

At 12:32 the order was given "to secure," and the men released 
from action stations came up on deck, many of them to get their first 
glimpse of the German ships, which were flying the white flag and 



642 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

were proceeding strictly according to instructions received from Ad- 
miral Beatty. 

This bald description of the plan of operation will not convey to 
the mind a full conception of the scene, but it must be placed on per- 
manent record, for it indicates a disposition of hostile fleets such as 
has never been seen before and in all likelihood will never be seen 
again. From the purely spectacular point of view the pageant was 
robbed of some of its splendor by the low mist, which blurred all out- 
lines and refused to yield to the cold brilliance of the sunshine. But 
the significance of the meeting and procession was more important 
than its appearance. Men on deck watching the German ships come 
into view vied with one another in identifying them one by one. But 
underneath the momentary excitement of determining whether this 
ship was the Hindenberg or the Derfflinger, there was the deep satis- 
faction that the tedious task of the navy had been fulfilled. For the 
most part both ofticials and men were silent. They realized they 
were witnessing the climacteric act of Germany's downfall. They 
knew that the surrender of these vessels automatically raised the 
United States to second position among the world's naval powers; 
yet they showed no elation, but seemed to feel a sort of contemptuous 
pity for the fallen giant of the sea, who refused to fight. 

In ordered array, flotilla on flotilla moved across the sea, the Ger- 
mans completely encased by the Allies. So vast was the area they 
covered that both the head and the rear of the column stretched away 
into the haze and were lost to sight. The eye could not count them. 
They were in themselves a tremendous armada. All this time the 
great captive fleet and the greater fleet which encircled it were mov- 
ing slowly — almost at a funeral pace, for the Germans were unable 
to make twelve knots, the speed stipulated by Admiral Meurer — to- 
wards the anchorage appointed for the captive fleet ofif May Island, 
the rocky island which stands in the middle of the Firth of Forth, 
some miles eastward of the bridge. Presently the German ships 
came to rest and it could be seen that on every side of them were 
their British wardens. Ships of the southern line had closed in as 
guards, while the northern line, with the exception of the First Cruis- 
er Squadron and the First and Sixth Light Cruiser Squadrons, pro- 
ceeded into the harbor to the station from which they had started in 
the early hours of the morning. 

At 4 o'clock, as the bugle rang out "making sunset," the Germans 
in the shi]5s, who were soon to be interned at Scapa Flow, the most 
desolate, uninhabited, icy region of the British Isles, saw their flag 
hauled down; for about an hour before noon the commander-in-chief 
had issued the following signal to the fleet : 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 643 

"The German flag will be hauled down at sunset today (Thursday) 
and will not be hoisted again without permission." 
And so ended "Der Tag." 

Carried King and Queen 
Written by Walter E. Johnson, U.S.S. George Washington. 

After a period of training at the Great Lakes and a couple of 
trying months in the hospital with spinal meningitis, I was ordered 
onto the ship Manchuria at Hoboken, New Jersey. Some little time 
was required to put it in repair to carry soldiers and we left on our 
first trip April 30, 1918. We made two trips before sighting a sub. 
Our first one was seen July 27th about midocean. On September 19th, 
20th, and 2 1st we also were in danger of attacks but did not suffer 
damage. Four round trips were made to France and back before 
the armistice was signed, but that did not terminate our service, for 
following that, and until the 24th of August, 1919, our ship made 
nine more trips, making a record of thirteen trips for my servvice 
thus far in the navy. 

I visited Paris, Chateau Thierry, and Rheims in June, 1919. The 
Y. M. C. A. escorted us to different places of interest in Paris and ex- 
plained to us the ruins of the battle fields and Rheims. 

On August 17, 1919, I was transferred from the Manchuria to the 
George Washington, and on September 7th sailed for France to bring 
back the King and Queen of Belgium. Stopping first at Brest, where 
about 1,000 soldiers boarded our ship, we proceeded to Calais, where 
the royal passengers came aboard. This happy passenger group ar- 
rived at Hoboken, New Jersey, October 2d. As I write we are wait- 
ing for the King and Queen and Crown Prince to finish their tour 
of this country, ready to take them back to their native land. 

Prisoner op War 

Writing on board the U.S.S. Leviathan, John Tansey of Sioux 
Rapids tells of a short experience as a prisoner of the Germans, as 
follows : 

I was a German prisoner of war for forty-eight hours. We were 
running dispatches on a torpedo boat, the U.S.S. Terry, across the 
English Channel to General Pershing's base, when a German raider 
attacked us. Having no heavy guns we could not fight and we had 
them beat a mile for speed, but the seas were so heavy we had no 
chance to escape, so were taken prisoners. We were twenty-four 
hours out of Berlin about nightfall when we made our getaway. It 
was during a storm and if there ever was a ship that pitched and 



644 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

rolled it was our little boat out there on those mountains of waters. 
I stood for twenty-four hovirs on lookout watch on the mainmast, and 
had only two sandwiches and a cup of warm cofifee — some experi- 
ence, don't you think? 

Battle op Smyrna 
Lewis Arthur Jackson of Sioux Rapids, who shipped on the Ari- 
zona, tells as follows about the battle of Smyrna, which occurred the 
first Tuesday before or first Tuesday after the 19th of May, 1919: 

Anchored about one-quarter mile from the docks of Smyrna. At- 
tack began about 11 o'clock between the Greeks and the Turks, in a 
hand-to-hand battle. At first the Turks were victorious over the 
Greeks ; but later the Greeks landed eight transports of soldiers, about 
the middle of the afternoon, and drove out the Turks. 

The Turkish Government tried to say that the attack was made by 
civilians, not by the Turks, but as the Turks had two machine guns 
and a few one-pounders the civilians could not have been the offend- 
ers, as they could not secure these weapons. 

The action continued from about 11 o'clock until 2 o'clock in the 
afternoon, but a few shots were fired intermittently during the after- 
noon until evening. Chief action was over by 2 o'clock. American 
marines were landed the day before to protect the American interests. 
Number of Turks killed unknown; number of Greeks killed about 
four hundred. 

Cause of engagement: According to the Peace Council in France 
some of the Greeks and all of the Turks wished to be under the con- 
trol of the Turkish Government. 



THE WAR TIME SPIRIT IN BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Buena Vista County was far from the bustle of war preparation. 
.We were many miles from the large training camps, the busy sea 
coast, and the gigantic factories turning out munitions of war. 

But a stranger in our county would have known that we were in 
a war, and in to the Jimit. He could not have helped but notice the 
tense, eager spirit of our citizens to do all they could to make Buena 
Vista County better than one hundred per cent in any line of war ac- 
tivity. It was the general atmosphere of concentrated effort, a de- 
termination to win the war. 

There were the farewells to the men as they left for the camps, from 
which they started their journey for destinations which neither they 
nor those who were left at home knew. There were the anxious 
waits when the relatives and friends knew that some of the boys were 
on their way across. There were the crowds at the postoffice and the 
news stand waiting for the latest news from the front. There was 
the depressed feeling during the German drives in the spring of 1918, 
intermingled with the courageous feeling of hope for the time to come 
when the American army would get into the conflict with suiificient 
strength to be felt, and then the glorious time from June to November 
when the Hun was surely being pushed back step by step from every 
foot of ground over which he had so boastfully advanced; with its 
words of encouragement to those whose sons and brothers were in 
the fight, and its expressions of sympathy to those whose dear ones 
were wounded or had made the supreme sacrifice. 

People opened their pocketbooks and their hearts to enterprises al- 
most unheard of before 191 7, contributing vast sums of money to 
the many drives with a spirit that put Buena Vista County over the 
top, with a good margin to spare, for the entire period of the war. 

Scarcely a woman or child in the county but responded to the call 
of the Red Cross. Men, too, gave their time in speaking and in 
soliciting aid for the chapter, and what they could not contribute in 
knitting or hospital supplies they gave in money. 

The Liberty loans took more dollars from our county than we had 



646 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

previously thought could be spared for any one cause, and demanded 
many hours and days of time on the part of those who had the work 
in charge. The youngsters forgot toys and candies, and saved their 
pennies to help meet the call for the sale of war stamps. 

Every thought considered the welfare and comfort of our boys 
overseas and in camps. The Y.M.C.A., the K. of C, the Y.W.C.A. 
the Salvation Army, the Library Association, smokes for soldiers, 
and in fact any suggestion for the comfort or solace of the men who 
were so bravely leaving our county, need but to be mentioned to be 
the immediate subject of interest and activity. 

We had with us the Council of Defense with its membership assist- 
ing here, there, and everywhere ; the food conservation program with 
its administrator telling what to save and what not to eat; and the 
fuel administration with its officers checking the amount of coal we 
bought, and how we burned it, and urging us to use wood. 

The Buena Vista College S.A.T.C. gave us a local touch of khaki 
color as they marched to and from school through the streets of our 
county seat. 

A host of other suggestions of war, too — many of them seemingly 
of minor importance, but all pointing to the activities of war. The 
saving of peach and prune pits and bringing them down town to fill 
barrels with what had formerly been regarded as waste material, but 
of newly discovered usefulness in the manufacture of gas masks; the 
registration of aliens and placing restrictions upon their wanderings; 
the Christmas stations and the rules prohibiting mothers from send- 
ing anything but the smallest gifts to their loved ones; the collect- 
ing of tin foil for the Red Cross ; the making over, the patching, and 
making the old garments serve for a while longer; the three-cent 
postage, the revenue stamp, and other forms of taxation. 

Finally, the day of all days, November nth, the day of glorious 
celebration. 

American Red Cross in the War 

From the beginning of its war activities, the watchword of the 
American Red Cross has been service — emergency, relief ser- 
vice, supplemental to the work of the Quartermaster and Medical 
Corps of the army and navy. 

The object of this service was to help win the war by relieving the 
sufferings and discomforts of men, women, and children, whether in 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 647 

the trenches, in camp, in the hospital, or as refugees fleeing before 
the enemy. 

In the Hne of military relief, the chief aim of the American Red 
Cross has been to furnish such service as would best safeguard the 
health and comfort of the American soldiers and sailors, and to 
protect their families at home. 

In camp and on the march it has served the fighting men by the 
establishment of canteens and rest rooms along the lines of communi- 
cation between the front and the rear. Millions have been fed and 
protected from many hardships. At the front the American Red 
Cross has given additional service with rolling canteens, hot drink 
kitchens, and millions of articles of comfort which were distributed in 
the trenches and in the billets a little to the rear. 

As an aid to the army and navy authorities it has given an emer- 
gency service, materially assisting in maintaining sanitary condi- 
tions and better health, not only among the troops, but among the 
people with whom they were thrown in constant contact. 

Another service has been that of furnishing food, clothing, and com- 
forts to Americans taken prisoner by the enemy, and of caring for the 
sick and suffering among the prisoners of other nations who passed 
through neutral territory on their way to their homes. 

The American Red Cross has served with food, shelter, and supplies 
the thousands of refugees who were driven from their homes, either 
as helpless wanderers, or interned in foreign lands. It has served 
humanity by caring for thousands upon thousands of homeless, help- 
less, suffering children. It has served by assisting in the rehabilita- 
tion of much devastated territory and by furnishing employment and 
homes for thousands of dependents. 

The service rendered the peoples of Europe in restricting and pre- 
venting the spread of tuberculosis has been great. 

In short, by the service it rendered in hundreds of ways, the Ameri- 
can Red Cross aided the Allied conmianders and war councils in main- 
taining the morale of the armies which fought the battles of 
democracy. 

In the great World War the American Red Cross has considered 
it to have been its supreme duty to assist the army and navy authori- 
ties in every way in which it has been called upon by them to sup- 



648 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

plement their efforts in caring for the fighting men at the front and 
on their way to and from the front. 

In carrying out its work in France, the American Red Cross, in all 
its activities had expended up to July i, 1918, the sum of $22,114,209, 
and had $13,000,000 worth of supplies on hand for future use. The 
proportions devoted to military and civilian relief is indicated by these 
figures: Approximately $11,200,000 was apportioned to relief work 
among the soldiers and strictly military activities, while $10,914,209 
was used in different branches of civilian work. During the first few 
months the expenditures called for were much larger in the work 
among the civilians than the soldiers, but after that time conditions 
were reversed owing to the great influx of American soldiers. 

In the very beginning of its work in France, the American Red Cross 
was confronted by a double-pronged problem: Meeting the needs of 
the Allied fighting men already engaged in France, and preparing to 
meet the needs of the hundreds of thousands of American soldiers 
when they should arrive on French soil from their mobilization centers 
in America. 

When Secretary of War Baker made his first tour of inspection in 
France, he found substantial evidence of this Red Cross program. 
American army engineers already had constructed great warehouses 
and terminal facilities. He found also that distributing points for Red 
Cross supplies had been established. These goods, together with the 
gifts of the millions of workers among the American women at home, 
had been assembled, classified, and made ready for quick and efficient 
distribution. 

CANTEEN SERVICE 

At various strategic points on these lines, the American Red Cross 
established canteens and rest stations, operated by American women. 
Before the coming of these "joy stations," as they have been called by 
our soldiers, thousands of travel-worn men were obliged to spend dis- 
mal hours of waiting between trains, unfed, unwashed, tired, and ex- 
posed to heat and dust in summer, or to the cold and wet in winter. 

Canteen work did not end at junction points and way stations along 
the lines from ports through the interior : it was carried straight 
through to follow the troops to the trenches. Rolling canteens and 
portable kitchens, all of which were conducted by men instead of by 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTx\ COUNTY 649 

women, made it possible to serve cold drinks and light food in summer 
to the troops actually in the trenches. 

What canteens and rest stations are to the whole, able-bodied 
trooper, efficient medical and surgical aid are to the sick and wounded. 
In the early days of this war, before Allied organization had been per- 
fected to meet the shock of Germany's forty-year product of organi- 
zation and preparation for sudden aggression, inadequate hospital 
facilities caused untold suf¥ering among and wastage of men both 
sick and wounded. But base and convalesent hospital organization 
in the Allied armies was quickly perfected. One of the vital features 
of American Red Cross work in France was its emergency aid 
given to the army medical and surgical corps. 

No hospital service is truly efficient without ample provision for 
special food for the sick and wounded. To make this provision the 
Red Cross established diet kitchens. This service was of special value 
to the men wounded about the face and jaws. Also the Red Cross 
maintained hospital huts where convalescing American soldiers might 
pass their time and find healthful relaxation and rest. It is a well 
known fact that the open fields, blue sky, and the sight of men goings 
about the peaceful business of farming is one of the greatest of all 
tonics for shredded nerves. It is equally well known that actual 
work in quiet, open fields performs miracles on sickly or wounded 
bodies. 

One of the inevitable by-products of war is the army of maimed. 
But contrary to tradition and precedent, the soldiers who have lost 
legs or arms or both in this war are not being turned out of hospitals 
to become a burden both to themselves and their families. They are 
being reconstructed, so to speak, in a way which brings into play all 
the ingenuity and skill of modern surgery. These men are being 
ec[uipped with artificial limbs and trained to make the best use of them, 
and in this work the Red Cross is having a large part. 

Because of the fact that all available man-power in France was en- 
gaged in the war, the Red Cross was called upon to provide housing 
accommodations for refugees who found it necessary to assemble in 
Paris. Another item for which a liberal appropriation was needed 
was for a campaign against tuberculosis. Refugees were weakened 
by disease and sacrifice, and at one time an epidemic of tuberculosis 
threatened. 



650 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Demand for protection against infant mortality increased as the 
war progressed. In the early months of Red Cross activity one-half 
of the deaths of children might have been prevented by adequate fa- 
cilities for their care and protection. The good work finally accom- 
plished in this work cannot be estimated in dollars and cents. 

CAREFUL IN EXPENDITURES 

The magnitude of responsibilities in this relief and humanitarian 
service necessitated wisdom and economy in all expenditures in order 
that the resources available, even though apparently large in the ag- 
gregate, might be used to accomplish the greatest possible good. 

Work of the American Red Cross was not confined to France, where 
the American Expeditionary Forces were most actively interested, but 
to England, Switzerland, Russia, Siberia, Serbia, Greece, Roumania, 
and Palestine. 

As the war progressed there was demonstrated a need for some 
agency outside of the government itself, which could keep casuals 
and prisoners in touch with the home folks. The Red Cross assumed 
this task. Obtaining information concerning the fate of American 
soldiers in the thick of the fighting in France was the most im- 
portant part of the work performed by the bureau of communication. 
Later they added a bureau which advised relatives at home of the na- 
ture of a man's wounds and gave weekly reports of his progress. 

Missing in action ! Greatest of all anxiety was that which followed 
the receipt of such message by the family of some boy "over there." 
The Red Cross took up reports in these cases and advised relatives at 
the earliest possible moment of the young man's fate. 

VOLUNTEER INDUSTRIALS OF RED CROSS 

Eight million patriotic American women developed into skilled 
workers in the manufacture of relief articles, the production of which 
had been standardized to avoid the liability of irregularity of work 
done at so many dififerent places. The pieces which were made ac- 
cording to standardized requirements were surgical dressings, hospital 
garments and hospital supplies. 

Of the articles produced by the Red Cross women none has meant 
more to our boys in khaki and blue than the knitted ones. Practic- 
ally every fighting man who has gone overseas has carried with him 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTx\ COUNTY 651 

Red Cross knitted articles provided by the Red Cross workers. While 
the chief concern of the Red Cross chapters since this country entered 
the war has been the production of surgical dressings for our fight- 
ing men, for three years previous the countries which have since 
been our Allies received supplies from them. 

THE SPIRIT OF RED CROSS FINANCE 

While all the organization doing war relief work were ostensible 
aids to government activities, the Red Cross was the only one recog- 
nized as a governmental agent. Its activities were controlled by gov- 
ernment policies or needs and its finances were subject to inspection 
and approval by federal officers. It was the policy of the war coun- 
cil to run the finances of the organization as an open book. There 
were no secrets in the Red Cross. Any and all details as to salaries, 
contracts, and anything else, were open to public scrutiny. Instruc- 
tions were that every dollar expended should be spent as though it 
were the dollar contributed by the person least able to give it. 

During the period of the war unprecedented sums for humanita- 
rian work were raised and applied through this organization as a 
practical evidence of the generosity of the American people and of 
their deep interest in the welfare of the soldiers and sailors of our and 
Allied countries. As is generally known, in this organization the 
chapters, including branches and auxiliaries, are the local and basic 
unit, to which the membership is primarily located. 

Following are certain round figures covering American Red Cross 
participation in the war, as revealed by the war councils report: 

SOME OUTSTANDING FIGURES 

Contributions received (material and money) $400,000,000 

Red Cross members: Adults, 20,000,000; Children, 

1 1 ,000,000 31 ,000,000 

Red Cross workers 8,100,000 

Relief articles produced by volunteer workers 371,577,000 

Families of soldiers aided by home service in U.S. .... 500,000 

Refreshments served by canteen workers in U. S. ... 40,000,000 
Nurses enrolled for service with army, navy or Red 

Cross ' 23,822 

Kinds of comfort articles distributed to soldiers and 

sailors in U. S 2,700 

Knitted articles given to soldiers and sailors in U. S. . . 10,900,000 

Tons of relief supplies shipped overseas 101,000 



652 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Foreign countries in which Red Cross operated 25 

Patient days in Red Cross hospital in France 1,155,000 

French hospitals given material aid 3,780 

Splints supplied for American soldiers 249,000 

Gallons of nitrous oxide and oxygen furnished French 

hospitals 4,340,000 

Men served by Red Cross canteens in France 15,370,000 

Refugees aided in France 1,726,000 

American convalescent soldiers attending Red Cross 

movies in France 3,1 10,000 

Soldiers carried by Red Cross ambulances in Italy ... 148,000 

Children cared for by Red Cross in Italy 155,000 

Of the $400,000,000 in money and supplies, contributed to the 
American Red Cross during the twenty months the war council was 
in existence, $263,000,000 was alloted to national headquarters, while 
$137,000,000 went to the chapters to finance their activities. Expen- 
ditures in the twenty months totalled $273,000,000, divided as follows: 
By national headquarters in France, $57,000,000; elsewhere overseas, 
$64,000,000; in the United States, $48,000,000; by chapters in the 
United States, $43,000,000; cost of chapter-produced articles distri- 
buted in France, $25,000,000, elsewhere overseas $8,000,000, in the 
United States, $28,000,000; making a total of expenditures in France 
$82,000,000, elsewhere overseas, $72,000,000, in the United States, 
$119,000,000. 

BuENA Vista County Red Cross 

The organization of the Buena Vista County American Red Cross 
which was delayed by the illness and decease of Dr. L. M. Nusbaum, 
who led the movement for the establishment of a chapter in this 
county, was perfected Monday, the 14th of May, 1917. The com- 
mittee in charge was composed of the Chautauqua Board, and a few 
others who had signed the original application for chapter, after hav- 
ing subscribed for membership in the National Red Cross. These 
first Red Cross members perfected the organization according to the 
instructions sent out by the headquarters office at Washington. The 
following temporary officers were chosen to hold office until the time 
of the annual election in October : 

Chairman, Mrs. U. S. Parish; vice-chairman, Airs. J. H. O'Don- 
oghue; secretary, Mrs. R. U. Kinne; treasurer, George J. Schaller. 



i HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 653 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

Mrs. E. B. Wells, IMarathon ; Mrs. H. J. Holmquist, Sioux Rapids; 
Mrs. H. L. Pierce, Linn Grove; Mrs. E. L. Boylan, Rembrandt; Mrs. 
Jesse Wilkinson, Alta ; Mrs. F. C. Foley, Newell ; George R. Anderson, 
Albert City; Miss Wilcox, Storm Lake; Miss Frieda Witter, Storm 
Lake; Miss Anna Toohey, Storm Lake; Mrs. F. E. Branch, Storm 
Lake; Rev. F. j\L Olson, Storm Lake; Mrs. A. E. Brunson, Storm 
Lake; W. L. Geisinger, Storm Lake; P. C. Toy, Storm Lake; G. M. 
Triplett, Storm Lake ; H. E. Swope, Storm Lake ; T. D. Filers, Storm 
Lake; F. V. Dumbaugh, Storm Lake; Dr. J. W. Parkhill, Storm Lake. 

On Satvirday, June 6th, was held a special county meeting to per- 
fect plans to raise the first war fund of $5^000. C. H. Wegerslev 
was appointed chairman, R. U. Kinne, secretary, and P. C. Toy, 
treasurer. Soliciting committees were appointed in each town and 
township, and as a result of their work, the quota was far exceeded, 
and $12,000 was raised. This war fund was divided seventy-five 
per cent to the National Red Cross and twenty-five per cent to the 
district in which the money was raised. 

Each county of the state had been designated as a unit for a Red 
Cross chapter, with headquarters at the county-seat. Each chapter 
was then to be subdivided into districts covering the trade territory of 
the towns of the county, and in some cases school districts, for the 
convenience of members assisting in the work. These districts were 
called branches. These branches worked in connection with, and 
through, the headquarters organization, the county chapter, the chap- 
ter in turn working with and through the state and district head- 
qviarters. 

During the six months term of ofifice, the organization of branches 
of the county chapter was perfected, with the exception of Lincoln- 
Lee Consolidated School District, which was organized as a branch in 
April, 1918. The work of organization was done by the officers with 
the assistance of A. L. Whitney, R. U. Kinne, and J. H. O'Donoghue, 
who, in each town in the county, and in each consolidated school dis- 
trict, called a public meeting where the origin, aim, and object of the 
Red Cross was explained. 

Eagerness and a desire for information was shown in every instance 
and in a short time the following branches imited in forming a county 
unit: Alta, Albert City, Fairview, Highview, Linn Grove, Marathon, 
Newell, Sioux Rapids, Storm Lake, Rembrandt, and Truesdale. 



654 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

So responsive were the branches to call for workers, that it was 
truly irksome to be restrained by the seeming slowness of the move- 
ments of the officers at Storm Lake, whose patience, indeed was be- 
ing sorely tried, as they were having rare trouble in getting direc- 
tions or advice of any kind from national headquarters. Of course, 
as we all learned later, the poor little A.R.C. at Washington, which 
up to this time had proved quite adequate to Red Cross needs, was 
now quite completely buried under an avalanche of letters and tele- 
grams similar to those sent from Storm Lake. The heart of America 
was touched by the appeal for help, and the fingers of the American 
women were aching to be permitted to roll bandages, make garments, 
and knit. 

But in these new days of war and conservation, women could not 
be permitted to cut up cloth indiscriminately and with lack of uni- 
formity, so they must wait even when waiting tortured their souls, 
until a vaster and more complete organization of Red Cross could 
work out details and give to the chapters definite working plans and 
patterns. 

In reviewing this situation, it seems to us now that all this was ac- 
complished in an incredibly short time. In July we were making 
surgical dressings, hospital supplies, and knitted articles. It was with 
a great deal of satisfaction that the first boxes of beautifully finished 
garments were packed, nailed up, and sent to Des Moines for inspec- 
tion and further shipment. 

SURGICAL DRESSING INSTRUCTIONS 

It was impossible for us to acquire the necessary knowledge of the 
making of surgical dressings without an instructor and we conceived 
the idea of sending a young woman to Des Moines to take the course 
in "the making of surgical dressings." Des Moines had but now 
acquired this knowledge, having sent a pupil to Chicago. Miss Cora 
Siberall came back to us from Des Moines, qualified in the art, and 
ready to conduct classes of instruction in Storm Lake or elsewhere 
in the county. 

Very soon Storm Lake, Newell, Alta, Marathon, Sioux Rapids, and 
Truesdale had introduced the making of surgical dressings into their 
Red Cross activities. 

The first shipment made containing surgical dressings, was Sep- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 655 

tember 7th, 1917: i box surgical dressings, 84 pairs pajamas, 16 
convalescent robes, 53 dozen handerchiefs, i dozen hospital shirts, 23 
dozen table napkins, 14 dozen pillow cases, 10 sheets, 9 dozen dish 
towels, 13 dozen wash cloths, 11 dozen hand towels, 7 tray covers. 

REVIVE ART OF KNITTING 

The war found our women with little or no knowledge of knitting. 
The majority of women had never knit a stitch and many had never 
seen a stitch knitted. In July orders came for sixty sets of knitted 
articles, each set to contain a sweater, a muffler, a helmet, a pair of 
wristlets, and a pair of socks. 

With grim determination the quota was accepted and pledges ex- 
tracted from women for knitted sets. Yarn and knitting needles were 
acquired by the chapter. The few experienced knitters sprung into 
universal popularity and women with knitting bars of every color 
and size might be seen wending their way to the seat of instruction. 
The sixty sets were sent in on time. The next quota which came, 
asked for two hundred and fifty sets, and more followed. Buena 
Vista County women became as expert knitters as their grandmothers 
ever were. 

The total number of Red Cross members in the county at the close 
of the year was 2803. 

At the annual election in October, 191 7, the following officers were 
elected: Chairman, Mrs. J. H. O'Donoghue; vice-chairman, Mrs. J. 
A. Schmitz; secretary, Mrs. George Sedwick; treasurer, P. C. Toy. 

The executive committee comprised the officers and in addition, 
Mrs. Bert Lewis, Mrs. R. U. Kinne, Mrs. L. M. Nusbaum, W. C. Ed- 
son, and Chas. Skewis. 

The Christmas campaign for members for 1918 was very success- 
ful. On Christmas day the Red Cross service flag might be seen in 
a window of nearly every home in the county, and the one hundred 
per cent in a great many cases appeared with it. The reports from 
the branches showed a membership of: Alta, 844; Albert City, 294; 
Fairview, 192; Highview, 116; Linn Grove, 349; Marathon, 222; 
Newell, 741 ; Rembrandt, loi ; Storm Lake, 2060; Sioux Rapids, 544; 
Truesdale, 90; total, 5553. 



656- HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

GENEROUS BUYERS AT SALES 

During the first several months of 191 8, nearly all of the branches 
held Red Cross sales. At these sales, livestock and a great variety 
of dififerent articles that had been donated by^ members, were put up 
at auction and the entire proceeds were put into the local treasuries 
for the use of the Red Cross. The rural members, in a great many 
cases, were particularly generous in the donation of live stock. In 
each of the sales, one or more articles was sold and re-sold many times. 
To quote from the Pilot-Tribune of April 12th: 

Less than a year ago there was no organization in Buena Vista 
County known as the Red Cross, and it is safe to say that not ten 
people in a hundred knew what the society stood for. Yet in the 
past three months, men, women and children have dug down into 
their pockets and given willingly nothing short of $100,000 to keep 
the Red Cross from financial handicap and embarrassment. Buena 
Vista County can vie with other counties in the state for the number 
of successful Red Cross sales. In the last three months $60,000 was 
netted in eight sales in the county. 

In the May war drive, the Buena Vista allotment was $13,000. 
While Red Cross speeches were made throughout the county. Red 
Cross sermons given in the churches, literature distributed, pennants 
and posters hung everywhere on our streets, there was no fear that 
the county would fail at any point in the amount expected. There 
was the settled conviction that Buena Vista County would always do 
its share. More than $13,000 was ready the first day of the drive, 
each branch of the county having given its pro rata share. 

There was held in Storm Lake a chapter course in home service 
work, with Mr. Mannheimer and Mrs. Crooks, sent out by the State 
University, instructors. Home service work, already under head- 
way here, was strengthened by this course. 

LADIES INTO FOREIGN WORK 

Miss Jennie Skewis went from our chapter to Chicago to take a 
six weeks' course in a Home Service Institute held there in June. 
After taking the course, financing herself as she wished to do, she was 
willing to return and work at home, but found a field in Chicago that 
needed her experience more than this community did, so she was re- 
leased and is still devoting her talents to the work there, without re- 
muneration of any kind. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 657 

The appeal for nurses for service abroad called from ovir county 
Miss Eva Delbridge, Miss Ida Schweitzer, and Miss Josephine Hoflf- 
man of Storm Lake; Miss Irene Robar of Alta; Miss Stacy and Miss 
Blanche A Merry of Sioux Rapids, and Miss Taletta Haroldson of 
Rembrandt. Miss Edith Dunn and Miss Hughena Burns registered 
for service, but had not received their call at the time the armistice 
was signed. The remaining graduate nurses registered for home 
service and during the influenza epidemic gave their services freely. 

The Red Cross assisted the Council of Defense in a campaign for 
student nurses to take training. As a result several young women 
from this county are now in hospitals preparing for the profession 
of nursing. 

METHODS OF WORK 

A committee appointed for'the purpose, had prepared a "Red Cross 
Map" defining the territory of each branch, where the branch had not 
defined its own territory when organized. The entire county was 
now Red Cross territory, Lincoln-Lee coming in at this time. Chapter 
headquarters received literature and instructions from division head- 
quarters in Chicago, and the branches the same through the chapter 
offices — the chapter being responsible to the division for the branches. 
All articles made by the branches were brought to Storm Lake for 
inspection and shipment. 

Up to this time we had been urged to make and send in as many 
supplies of all kinds as possible, buying our materials on the open 
market, or in Chicago at the supply house. But now the plan was 
changed, and we were given county quotas to make in surgical dress- 
ings, hospital supplies, knitting, etc. Now we were asked to cease 
purchasing on the open market and buy all goods in Chicago at the 
supply house. Orders were obeyed and the change was made. 

National headquarters at Washington had developed system, and 
in the interest of conservation of materials and labor, issued a general 
order that the promiscuous making of garments must cease. Each 
of the thirteen divisions would now be given a quota of garments to 
be furnished and made, each division dividing its quota among the 
chapters in its division, the chapters re-dividing among the branches. 
Formerly each of our branches had bought as much material and made 
as many articles as it desired, now the chapter receiving its dictum 
from the division, found it necessary to dictate the amount of work 



658 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

for each branch, which dictation, it may be added, was always cheer- 
fully accepted. 

At this time it became evident that the luorking capacity of each 
branch was not always equal to its financial ability, so it was decided 
by the board of directors to divide the work among the branches, ac- 
cording to the amount of work the women were able to do, but to let 
the burden of the payment for the necessary materials be divided pro 
rata among the branches according to the population of the territory 
included in each branch, reckoned by townships. In this way each 
branch would bear its own financial responsibility regardless of the 
number of garments it could make. This proved acceptable to the 
county, and was in effect after that time. The following is each 
branch's proportion of the county's responsibility: Storm Lake, 
24.31 per cent; Newell, 14.05 per cent; -Sioux Rapids, 7.02 per cent; 
Alta, 13.53 P^r cent; Fairview, 4.38 per cent; Highview, 3.03 per 
cent; Linn Grove, 5.31 per cent; Marathon, 7.2 per cent; Albert City, 
9.61 per cent; Rembrandt, 4.66 per cent; Truesdale, 5.1 per cent; 
Lincoln-Lee, 1.8 per cent. 

When the edict went forth to do only the work contained in the 
quota given by headquarters, nearly all the branches were overstocked 
with materials. As the quota given by the division might not de- 
mand the kinds of material the branches happened to have in stock, 
there probably would be the necessity for buying other materials 
while already heavily stocked with material of a different kind. Thus 
would come a failure in conservation of yarns and cloths, besides ty- 
ing up the branches' funds in unused materials which, bought at a 
high price, would later deteriorate in price. The chapter came to the 
rescue, taking over the goods from the branches at cost price as per 
invoice, giving each branch credit for the same, assembling the goods 
at Storm Lake, then sending an invoice of all assembled goods to the 
division with the request that so far as possible, Buena Vista County 
Chapter be given quotas in which these goods could be used; quota, 
which in time to come would cover the amounts and kinds of mate- 
rials held by the chapter. This cooperation was gladly promised and 
all goods have been used in quotas, and few other purchases have been 
made. Several thousand dollars' worth of goods was thus conserved 
and made into garments of mercy for hospitals and refugees' relief. 

"No flaws in Buena Vista County Red Cross" said Mrs. Aileen 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 659 

Dougherty, field secretary of the Red Cross, as she addressed an as- 
semblage of Storm Lake and county workers in a meeting called for 
that purpose, August 8th, and she pronounced the county organiza- 
tion "perfect," admitting, however, that she ought to find some flaws, 
but after going over the work of the administration, in justice to the 
officers and workers, she must state that it was quite flawless. She 
said that she expected to find an organization which was good because 
she was met at the depot by a member of the Red Cross Motor Corps, 
Lieutenant Steig, and conveyed to her appointment. Aside from, 
possibly, Des Moines, Storm Lake's cor])s was the first to be organized 
in the state, and she called us "up to the minute." 

RED CROSS PICNIC 

The officers and committee chairmen of the chapter, had planned 
a picnic for the Red Cross workers throughout the county, and had 
issued invitations to all the branches to that effect, when the official 
call came for a large number of our boys to leave for service on that 
day. Hurriedly, the picnic plans were changed, the date set forward 
a day, and the entire population of the county invited to participate 
in a farewell program and picnic in honor of the boys of Buena Vista 
County, who upon the following morning, would leave for war ser- 
vice.- 

Many Storm Lake business men volunteered their assistance to the 
committee in charge, Mrs. L. M. Nusbaum and Mrs. W C. Kerlin, 
and all possible arrangements were made for the big event. 

The early afternoon brought to the picnic grounds thousands of 
people — "the largest crowd ever seen in Storm Lake." Our soldiers 
(not yet in khaki) having received their instructions at the court 
house, were conveyed by the ladies of the motor corps with shining 
cars and fluttering pennants, to the park where seats had been re- 
served for them. 

Then followed a fine program of inspiring speeches and good vocal 
and instrumental music, the Linn Grove band and the Storm Lake 
orchestra participating. After the program, came the picnic supper. 
Long tables were provided for the guests of honor, but the immense 
crowd of people sat in groups on the grass. Coffee and ice cream 
were served free and in great abundance by the Storm Lake business 
men, proving an agreeable addition to the basket fare. 



66o HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

The beautiful park aglow with the late afternoon sun and dotted 
with white cloths covered with delectable food, and surrounded by 
people who had come from the ends of the county to do tribute to the 
county's young manhood, was a scene long to be remembered by all 
and presented a picture that each young soldier doubtless carried with 
him across seas. 

Probably the most pleasant and inspirational occurrences of the 
year were the "get together" meetings of the county workers which 
were held from time to time. Speeches, reports, round table discuss- 
ions, etc., were usually the order of the afternoon and great loyalty 
and unanimity of purpose were shown. 

In October a big county autumn festival was planned by the D.A.R. 
and many tickets were sold, but the Spanish influenza epidemic made 
it necessary to indefinitely postpone the festival. 

SUPPLY NURSES AT CRITICAL TIME 

During the influenza epidemic a nurses' registry was established 
with Mrs. J. A. Schmitz in charge. In this way nurses were supplied 
to the dififerent parts of the county at a time when they were most 
needed. Later, with the assistance of Mrs. A. E. Webb, a complete 
survey of the county was made. 

REORGANIZE WITH 6109 MEMBERS 

The annual meeting and election, which occurs in October, was 
postponed on account of Spanish influenza. It was finally held No- 
vember 20th, only a small number being in attendance through fear 
of exposure in a public meeting. Officers were elected as follows: 
Mrs. George M. Pedersen, Chairman ; Mrs. J. A. Schmitz, vice-chair- 
man; Mrs. George Sedwick, secretary; P. C. Toy, treasurer. 

The annual report of the secretary and treasurer shows a chapter 
membership at the beginning of the year, of 2603, and at the close 
of the year, 6109, as follows: Alta, 881 ; Albert City, 319; Fairview, 
219; Highview, 122; Linn Grove, 378; Lincoln-Lee, 115; Marathon, 
271 ; Rembrandt, 125; Sioux Rapids, 619; Storm Lake, 2161 ; Trues- 
dale, 118. 

As a natural consequence of the cessation of hostilities and the 
advent of peace, the entire section for military relief throughout the 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 66i 

county became inactive. Finished quotas were sent in and no new 
work along" military lines received. 

Greater activity was demanded of the communities on refugees' 
relief, and a few heavy quotas were received, which have been fininshed 
to the last garment and sent on their way and the committees relieved. 

A great amount of praise should be given the faithful women who 
remained constant to their trust after the battle urge had ceased, and 
the army of workers had retired from the field and resumed their 
usual tasks. The members of the refugees' relief committee did a 
great share of the work themselves, one member alone making six 
dozen pinafores. The assembled goods of the chapter were all used 
in this relief work, as well as some other goods purchased from the 
Chicago supply house. 

In the Christmas campaign for members for 1919, the membership 
was increased from 6109 to 6619, even though only adults were so- 
licited. (Since the organization of the Junior Red Cross all those 
under eighteen years of age were solicited for Junior memberships 
only). The roster of those handling this campaign is as follows: 

Chairman, T. D. Filers; publicity representative, A. F. Harrison; 
cashier, Ray Cutchall ; manager of supplies, Fred P. Foster. 

CHAIRMAN OF BRANCHES 

Alta, C. H. Wegerslev; Albert City, Geo. R. Anderson; Fairview, 
Miss Nellie M. Johnson; Highview, Mrs. Mike Hanson; Linn Grove, 
C. A. Fulton; Lincoln-Lee, Miss Bea Gavin; Marathon, L. C. Bruwell; 
Newell, Miss Halley Kinney; Rembrandt, A. D. Odor; Sioux Rapids, 
C. L. Sipe; Storm Lake, rural, John Doyle; Storm Lake, city, Miss 
Grace Mack; (Ward i, Mrs. Jim Brown; Ward 2, Mrs. Harry Foster; 
Ward 3, Mrs. E. G. Scofield; Ward 4, Mrs. E. W. Oates). 

GOOD SPIRIT PREVAILED 

Much praise and appreciation is due the A.R.C. committees and 
their helpers for the untiring and successful work done by them and 
for their fine and cheerful cooperation with officers and executive 
committee. The absence of friction in the machinery would indicate 
that the lubricant of unselfishness was fully administered and a splen- 
did harmony and team work were the result. 

It is scarcely possible that any county could be more patriotic than 



662 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Buena Vista, as is fully demonstrated by the work and self-sacrifice 
of its Red Cross women, who gave their strength, their rest periods, 
and worked on in fatigue, their slogan "Carry On." No request in 
the name of the Red Cross was ever refused or ignored. As well as 
wives proud of their husbands and sons, there are many husbands 
and sons proud of the part their wives and mothers took in winning 
the war. 

However, not alone should the women receive the credit for Red 
Cross accomplishment. The men of the county in their work on 
committees, in public speaking, in financial support, and in many other 
ways were a tower of strength. 

SOLDIERS ADVISED ON ALLOTMENTS 

Shortly after the United States entered the war with Germany, 
and when it became apparent that under the provisions of the federal 
law that the matters of allotments, allowances, and insurance would 
be a very important factor in connection with the service of the sol 
diers and sailors in the army and navy of the United States, the Ad- 
jutant General of the State of Iowa, issued a commission to a member 
of the legal profession in each county to take care of this matter. A. 
D. Bailie was appointed in this county to look after the interests of 
soldiers, sailors, and their dependents in Buena Vista County. During 
the period of the war a vast number of cases came under his care, 
and careful consideration and attention was given each and every 
individual case. 

After the appointment of Judge Bailie to the above position, the 
Red Cross organization of the county elected him to the position of 
chairman of the committee on civilian relief of the American Red Cross. 
In some cases financial help has been secured and furnished to de- 
serving dependents, pending their receipt of allotments and allow- 
ances. Many cases of applications for discharges, furloughs, bonuses 
granted by the federal government, and applications for changes 
of insurance policies, reports of death claims, applications for voca- 
tional training, and for compensation have been referred to him, and 
while there appeared many apparently unwarranted delays in i)ro- 
curing allotments and allowances for the benefit of dependents of sol- 
diers and sailors in the service, such delays have been occasioned by 
the congested business of the department at Washington. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 663 

In addition to the above duties, Mr. Bailie has been called upon to 
give time and attention to correspondence between families and rela- 
tives with the soldiers and sailors overseas. Such service was giv- 
en with the earnest endeavor to aid those dependent upon the soldiers 
and sailors in the service of the United States. 

REPORT OF ALBERT CITY BRANCH 

A turkey took the honors as one of the large revenue producers for 
the Albert City Red Cross. It was sold and re-sold, as were several 
other items which were introduced into the sale ring, where W. R. 
Ritchie conducted the sale. The membership of this branch in 191 7 
was 170; for 1 91 8 it reached 316; the number for 1919 was 217. 
Through sales the total amount of money raised for Red Cross work 
was $7,931.99; community meals raised $36.45; solicitations and do- 
nations contributed $1,084.92 more. 

The soliciting committee for 191 7 was Mrs. B. B. Bridge, chair- 
man; Mrs. Ben Bryson, Miss Moore, Emil Nissen, Mrs. Danielson, 
Mrs. Nero and Mrs. Gust Anderson. 

The work committee consisted of Mrs. B. B. Bridge, F. L. Daniel- 
son, Mrs. F. Youngquist, Mrs. G. T. Swenson, Florence Hultman, 
A. J. Ryden, Mrs. H. Lampe, Mrs. O. M. Farb, John Whitman, Mrs. 
Elmer Sundholm, Mrs. Gulbranson, Mrs. Ben Bryson, Mrs. Emil 
Nissen, Mrs. Earl Post, Mrs. Nero, and Mrs. W. W. Kischer. 

The buying committee was Ed Swanson, Carl Gulbranson, and W. 
W. Kischer. 

The 191 7 selling committee was comprised of Miss Florence Hult- 
man, Mabel Moore, and Amanda Lundgren. Miss Jennie Smith 
served as chairman, G. T. Swenson as vice chairman, Miss Moore 
as secretary, and G. E. Gulbranson as treasurer. During this year 
the branch raised $471.88 and disbursed $45. 

The 1 91 8 organization was completed with the election of the same 
executive committee as noted above for 1917. New committees were 
chosen. The working committee consisted of Mesdames Nero, Ry- 
den, Bridge, Lampe, Farb, Earl Post, August Anderson, Sena Lar- 
son, F. L. Danielson, F. T. Youngquist, John Whitham, Adolph An- 
derson, Amanda Lundgren, C. J. Benna, Lawrence Paulson, and 
Mrs. O. C. Anderson. 



664 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

A committee for Belgian relief was composed of Mrs. John Whit- 
man, Sena Larson, and Mrs. Adolph Johnson. 

The directors for 1918 were Miss Sena Larson, Mrs. J. Whitman, 
Mrs. L. O. Putnam, Amanda Lundgren, Mrs. Carl Nero, Miss Jennie 
Smith, Mrs. G. T. Swenson, Alice Larson, C. E. Gulbranson, George 
R. Anderson, Mrs. O. C. Anderson, and A. J. Ryden. 

The buying committee for this, the most active year of the Red 
Cross work, was Mrs. Ed Swanson and Mrs. E. E. Gulbranson. 

The financial committee report shows that for this year there was 
received from membership fees and general receipts the sum of 
$566.22; from refreshments, $23.15; from donations, $915.74; from 
fines for hoarding sugar, $105.15; from Red Cross Sale, $7,718.61; 
a total of $9,328.87. Of this amount $500 was disbursed to the 
soldiers' relief fund; $112.90 to the Lincoln-Lee branch; $1,485.90 to 
the Buena Vista County chapter, and $1,330.90 in general items. At 
the end of the year the branch had a net fund of $5,899.17. 

When the reorganization was efifected for 1919 Miss Jennie 
Smith was elected chairman; Mrs. G. T. Swenson vice chairman; 
Alice Larson and Florence Hultman secretaries, and C. E. Gulbran- 
son treasurer. The directors chosen were Sena Larson, Mrs. Whit- 
man, Mrs. Putnam, Amanda Lundgren, Mrs. Carl Nero, Mrs. G. T. 
Swenson, Alice Larson, Jennie Smith, Mrs. C. E. Gulbranson, George 
R. Anderson, O. C. Anderson, and A. J. Ryden. 

The working committee consisted of Mrs. Frank Youngquist, Sena 
Larson, Mrs. John Whitman, Mrs. Andrew Ryden, Mrs. Ed Swan- 
son, Mrs. Carl Nero, Mrs. C. E. Gulbranson, Jennie Smith, and Mr. 
O. C. Anderson. 

Membership fees and sundry items amounted to $333.28; a sale 
brought $18.20; and donations amounting to $3 brought the total re- 
ceipts for the year to $354.48. With the liberal balance left from 
the previous year the branch was able to contribute to general ex- 
penses the sum of $631.80; and to the Buena Vista County chapter 
the sum of $355.26. 

Mrs. J. G. Lodine, who, on July 10, 1919, reached her eighty-fifth 
birthday, knitted eight scarfs, ten sweaters, and four pairs of socks 
for the Red Cross. 

Edwin Farb, though paralyzed and permitted the use of only one 
hand, knitted seven sweaters for the Red Cross. He is thirty-two 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 665 

years of age and lives with his sister, Mrs. F. T. Youngquist, at Al- 
bert City. 

REPORT OF ALTA BRANCH 

Alta's branch of the Red Cross was organized June 9, 191 7, short- 
ly after this nation had entered the war against Germany and the 
Central Powers. A preliminary drive in the month of June netted 
840 members from the territory assigned, which was all of Maple 
Valley and practically all of Nokomis Townships. The amount of 
funds raised from the preliminary campaign was modest, compared 
with amounts raised afterward, but withal, the membership as com- 
pared to population was the highest ratio in the county. 

From the very start a spirit of willingness to work and to give 
characterized the Red Cross in the Alta branch. The women who 
worked did so willingly day after day, and it is a commendable fact, 
indeed, that every quota of work allotted was completed on schedule 
time, and shipments were never delayed to await the Alta branch. 

The Junior Red Cross, organized in the schools, registered 100 per 
cent efficient, every child of the age being enrolled and all work as- 
signed was complete on time and in an accredited manner. 

In the spring of 1918 it was felt that the membership campaigns 
were not productive of the necessary financial aid, and therefore, in 
the month of March a Red Cross day was arranged, with the result 
that the proceeds of one day's efiforts were in the neighborhood of 
$12,000 — the largest amount raised by any one branch of the Red 
Cross in Buena Vista County, and of which the branch felt justly 
proud. The funds were raised by an auction sale of a huge assort- 
ment of articles, from pigs to books, from corn to cakes, but most re- 
markable was the sale and resale of a small goat which brought in 
the neighborhood of $5,000 before the final bid. A supper served in 
the community room at the school building at the close of the street 
sale served hundreds of people, and was followed by an inspiring pro- 
gram. 

In the fall of 1918, when the influenza epidemic swept the communi- 
ty, the Red Cross opened an emergency hospital at which a large 
number of cases were cared for. It is remarkable that while many 
deaths occurred elsewhere the fatalities here were very low, owing 
to excellent care at the outset. 

After the armistice was signed in November it was believed that 



666 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

there would be no interest in Red Cross work, but in spite of that the 
canvass for members in December following the cessation of hostili- 
ties, netted the largest membership of the three general solicitations 
recorded. 

It is also to be recorded here that during the shortage of help dur- 
ing the harvest season of igiS, when so many of the young men were 
absent overseas and in the training camps in this country, the busi- 
ness and professional men of the town went to the fields and assist- 
ed in caring for the crops on the ground. From this source close to 
$2CO was paid into the Red Cross treasury and the crop, so badly need- 
ed, was saved in several instances. The humble "wienie" contributed 
of its goodness to the swelling of Red Cross finances, for sale of 
sandwiches netted $285. On April i, 191 9, the organization had in 
its funds a balance of $5,250.17. Members had made surgical dress- 
ings to the number of 6,264, while the total number of pieces made by 
the senior and junior organizations reached the splendid total of 
10,585. 

Pomegranate Lodge No. 408, A. F. and A. M., jointly with the I. O. 
O. F. fraternity, donated an electric sewing machine for the work 
room. Cash donations were made by many individuals, as well as 
by the following organizations: Northside Club, Wednesday Club, 
La Coterie, Danish Ladies' Aid Society, Presbyterian Ladies' Aid 
Society, Mission Ladies' Aid Society, Alta Chapter, O.E.S., Naomi 
Circle, and Rebeka Lodge. 

Christmas day of 1917 was made happy for twenty-five boys in 
camps by the receipt of special packets which had been filled by Red 
Cross workers at home. 

The Red Cross, in the community, was of lasting benefit in many 
ways, but chief was that it taught unselfish giving and brought to 
mind that most valued tenet, that the land we love is entitled to our 
best endeavors and heartiest support. 

The list of officers changed in only one instance during the three 
years that the organization was intact. Mrs. J. Wilkinson served as 
president through the three years, as did Mrs. J. H. Allen in the office 
of vice chairman, and Mrs. G. F. Tincknell in the position of treas- 
urer. Miss A. E. Johnson was the first secretary of the organiza- 
tion, but was succeeded by Mrs. Wm. Rawn, whose period of service 
extended through the years 1918 and 1919. Upon organization of 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 667 

the branch a membership of 840 was enrolled, which the following 
year was increased to 872, and in 1919 limited as it was to those above 
eighteen years of age, was 878. Below is a complete statement 
from June 9, 191 7, to April i, 1919: 

Receipts: Memberships, $2,114; refmids from chapter, $1,006.46; 
contributions, $681.19; auction sale, $9,210.95; supper, $473.59; tags, 
$235.07; fines, "Rooster Court," $149; post cards, $24.50; fancy work 
booth. $193.70; "wienie" stand, $285; skating rink benefit, $88.35; 
harvest help, $177; help on park walk, $30; supplies returned, $144.29; 
"flu" hospital, $113.75; a total of $14,926.85. 

Disbursements: Supplies and materials, $3,557.76; express, tele- 
phone, postage, etc., $22.44; workroom equipment and maintenance 
of branch, $143.75; emergency "flu" hospital, $191.81; home ser- 
vice, $431.70; war loan apportionment, $1,758.90; Syrian- Armenian 
relief fund, $2,035 J memberships sent to national headquarters, 
$1,535.32; balance on hand April i, 1919, $5,250.17. 

COMPLETE LIST OF ARTICLES MADE 

Surgical dressings: 200 absorbent cotton pads, 8x12, 104 irri- 
gation pads, paper back, 16x24, 8 irrigation pads, paper back, 12x18, 
50 muslin triangular bandages, 26 split irrigation pads, 21x26, 585 
compresses, 8x4 ^4, 85 scultetus bandages, 75 shot bags, 15 webbing 
splint straps, 161 5 sponges, 2x2^, 32 five-yard gauze rolls, 75 dress- 
ing pads, paper back, 18x23, 2040 compresses, 4x4, 975 compresses, 
9x9, 60 folded gauze strips, 45 four-tail bandages, 65 T bandages, 
105 abdominal bandages, ^t, three-yard gauze rolls, 60 face masks, 
II pneumonia jackets. 

Junior Red Cross articles: 186 refugee garments, 200 knitted ar- 
ticles. 10 knitted afghans, 825 surgical dressings, 18 hospital supplies, 
26 miscellaneous. 

Hospital supplies: 93 pillow cases, 35 sheets, 36 towels, 116 hos- 
pital bed sheets, 148 suits of pajamas, 74 convalescent robes, 29 caps, 
10 handkerchiefs. 

Refugee garments: 17 boys' blouse suits, 65 women's chemises, 
96 girls' drawers, 7 girls' dresses, 224 pieces for infants' layettes, 
21 girls' nightgowns, 42 girls' petticoats, 26 women's petticoats, 30 
girls' pinafores, 24 boys' drawers, 30 children's undershirts, 20 
camisoles. 



668 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

For soldiers and sailors: 312 sweaters, 67 helmets, 266 pairs of 
wristlets, 72 mufflers, 674 pairs of socks, 139 comfort bags filled, 12 
comfort bags, 11 housewives, 63 handkerchiefs, 20 towels, 75 wash 
cloths, 107 napkins hemmed, 21 pairs of bed socks, 74 knitted wash 
cloths. 

Report of Fairview Branch 

In June, 19 17, a community gathering was held at the Fairview 
Consolidated School for the purpose of organizing the Fairview 
branch of the American Red Cross. A program was given, with A. 
L. Whitney and Roy U. Kinne of Storm Lake as the principal speak- 
ers, after which a basket social was held for the benefit of the Red 
Cross. 

The proceeds of the sale amounted to $31.20, which constituted 
the original fund of the branch. Mrs. Parish, chairman of the Storm 
Lake branch, was present at this meeting, organizing the sub-branch 
with 76 members. Mrs. G. R. Fanning was elected president, Mrs. 
Wm. Bice, vice chairman; H. W. Hasse, treasurer, and Mrs. Joe 
Steig, secretary. It was decided at this time that the branch would 
meet every Tuesday afternoon for work, after which tea would be 
served at ten cents each, this money to be used for a "comfort kit 
fund." This fund was pledged to the purpose of providing each of 
the Fairview boys with a comfort kit, sweater, and $5 in cash when 
entering the service. 

At the end of 1917 the branch had $75.25 on hand, and a member- 
ship of 183. The year 1918 proved to be a very successful one for 
the branch. A new membership of 212 was taken. On February 
1 2th a Red Cross sale and dinner were held at the schoolhouse, where 
a large and enthusiastic crowd made both a success. E. E. Rutledge 
of Alta and James Blake of Fairview were auctioneers. A turkey 
was the principal article for resale, selling as many as twenty times 
at sums totaling $284. The receipts of the sale were $1,360.85, 
while the dinner netted $97.50. 

In June, at the time of the war fund campaign, the branch sub- 
scribed $609, an over-subscription of $159.60. At the end of the 
year the sum of $1,288.87 remained on hand. During the Christmas 
roll call for 191 9 members, a membership of 285 was enrolled, show- 
ing an increase of 201 members since the organization of the branch. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 669 

Even after the armistice was signed the workers did not lose interest 
but kept up their work, which, of course, was not as strenuous as 
previously. 

About 700 articles were made, including hospital supplies and knit- 
ted goods. 

On July 24, 1918, the Fairview branch, in cooperation with the 
Alta branch, gave a farewell at Alta to the boys who left on July 25th 
for Camp Gordon. 

About thirty-three boys of this branch were in the service, two of 
whom made the supreme sacrifice. As soon as a number of the boys 
returned a "Welcome Home" was given at the schoolhouse, which 
proved to be one of the most enjoyable events of the community. On 
June 14th another reception was given to twenty of the boys. An- 
other was held in November. 

At the time of the making of this report, early in September, 1919, 
the branch still had in its treasury the sum of $1,332.23. 

The 700 aricles made were classified as follows: 8 summer bed 
shirts, 6 winter bed shirts, 5 pairs of bed socks, 18 handkerchiefs, 57 
underdrawers, 15 sheets, 155 pillow cases, 19 dish towels, 24 bath 
towels, 96 wash cloths, 6 hot water bag covers, 10 hospital comfort 
bags, 20 refugees' drawers, 49 sweaters, 157 pairs of socks, 11 muff- 
lers, II helmets, 13 wristlets. 

The chairmen of the different committees were: Supplies, Mrs. 
Wm. Bice ; hospital supplies, Francis Johnson, Matilda Madsen ; ship- 
ping, Mrs. Oscar Bodine; knitting, Mrs. Wm. Bice; sewing, Mrs. Roy 
Fanning; serving, Mrs. H. W. Haase; soliciting money, United States 
Red Cross War Fund, Nellie M. Johnson; memberships, 1918, Ar- 
thur Rehstrom; memberships, 1919, Nellie M. Johnson. 

The following amounts, which were raised by the means indicated, 
were sent to the National Red Cross: PubHc sale, $1,360.85; com- 
munity meals, $97.50; solicitation, $790.00; basket social, $31.20. 

Under date of March 10, 1919, the branch appropriated $248.93 to 
national headquarters, leaving $1,200 in the treasury. This was ap- 
portioned among three different causes, with $400 each to relief work, 
home service, and Red Cross. Additions were made to this fund 
until, on the ist of July, 1919, the branch had on hand the sum ot 
$i,332.23- 



670 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Report of Highview Branch 

The big item of funds raised by the Highview Red Cross was 
$2,949.17, which was netted from an auction sale held March 19, 1918, 
at which E. E, Rutledge of Alta was the auctioneer. For communi- 
ty meals there was reahzed the sum of $111 ; by solicitation $131 ; sale 
of ice cream $85; with a total of $3,793. The membership for 1917 
was 39, in 191 8 it grew to 121, and for 1919 memberships subscribed 
were 158. 

The branch made 8;^ hospital garments, 312 pieces of hospital 
supplies, filled 25 comfort kits, made 58 refugee garments, and 256 
articles for soldiers and sailors. 

When the first effort was made to secure a large membership Emil 
Chindlund was chairman of the organization which had charge of 
the work; with Lillian Chilgren as assistant. The third member- 
ship drive was under the leadership of Mrs. Mike Hansen. 

Highview banqueted every quota before leaving for camp, and also 
gave each soldier five dollars at his departure from camp. The final 
home coming given the men of that community was on October 3, 1919. 

Report of Linn Grove Branch 

Final accounting of the work done by this branch shows the follow- 
ing quantities of hand work: Knitted — 36 wash cloths, 325 pairs 
of socks, 97 sweaters, 13 helmets, 48 wristlets, 115 mufflers or scarfs. 
Sewed — 48 pajamas, 8 bed socks, 54 bed sheets, 48 pillow cases, 24 
face towels, 18 bath towels, 36 hospital shirts, 20 pinafores, 15 draw- 
ers, 15 shirts, 10 skirts, 20 complete kits, 15 Belgian waists, 36 con- 
valescent gowns, 20 wash cloths. 

Activities of a social nature which brought some revenues and in- 
come producing work are shown by the following calendar : 

June 21, 1917, general meeting called for organization; officers 
elected. 

May loth, opened Red Cross work room. 

July 4th, served lunches all day ; proceeds $130. 

August 8th, tag day sales, netted $34.25. 

September 9th, piano recital, netted $13.23. 

During November, 191 7, proceeds of two basket ball games given 
to the Red Cross. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 671 

December i7th-24th, booster campaign for memberships. 

In December filled twenty Christmas boxes to be sent overseas. 

March 29, 1918, held Red Cross sale and supper, receipts $5,603.31. 
A mounted silk flag donated by Ole Fuller, an overseas boy, was 
sold and resold, then was finally given to mother of donor. W. R. 
Ritchie, auctioneer. 

April, 1918, Junior Red Cross formed. 

April, 1918, band concert by local band netted $70.50. 

Sale of Red Cross thimbles, $52.35. 

In August, 1 91 8, held community farewell reception to drafted boys. 

December 13, 1918, emergency hospital started. 

February 25, 1919, reception for returned soldier boys. 

August 28th, home coming day for soldier boys. 

Receipts: Tag sale, $34.25; community meals, $497.36; lectures, 
$133.55; concerts, $177.43; contributions, $111; memberships, 
$1,333-55; refunds, from chapter, $722.34; sale, $5,745.01; other 
sources, $126.06; a total of $8,880.55. 

Disbursements: Express and drayage, $8.62; materials, $870.36; 
supplies, $110.73; home aid, $218; memberships, $1,618.42; allotments, 
$857.30; war savings stamps, $832; certificates of deposit, $3,523.47; 
miscellaneous, $283.98; cash on hand February 15, 1919, $557.23. 

Memberships for 1917, 161; for 1918, 377; for 1919, 350. 

Chairman of soliciting committees: 1917, A. H. Barnette; 1918, 
Dr. C. S. Van Ness; 1919, C. A. Fulton. Chairman knitting- com- 
mittee, Mrs. Andrew Johnson; to choose work, Mrs. J. T. Evans, 
Mrs. H. E. Erickson; purchasing committee, Mrs. O. H. Hesla, su- 
pervising committee, Mrs. C. W. Rowlands, Mrs. C. A. Fulton; home 
work, Mrs. C. A. Fulton, Mrs. Maggie Mayne; publicity committee, 
Mrs. George Evans ; to put away work, Mrs. J. E. Davies ; finance com- 
mittee, Dr. C. S. Van Ness. 

During the year 1917-1918 Mrs. Wm. Rutter was chairman; Mrs. 
O. H. Hesla, vice chairman; Miss Rose Larson, secretary; H. L. 
Pierce, treasurer. Upon the reorganization being effected for 1918- 
1919 Mrs. Ida Michalson was named chairman; Mrs. H. E. Erickson, 
vice chairman ; while Miss Larson was retained as secretary and Mr. 
Pierce as treasurer. 



6y2 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Report op Marathon Red Cross Branch 

The Marathon branch of the American Red Cross Society was or- 
ganized in the month of June, in 191 7, with the assistance of Mrs. U. 
S. Parish, who was at that time the chairman of the Buena Vista 
County chapter, and other ladies from the county-seat, with A. L. 
Whitney as speaker. The organization meetings were held at the 
Masonic Hall, and the following officers were elected: Chairman, 
Mrs. T. L. Roberts; vice chairman, Mrs. J. A. Hitchcock; secretary, 
Mrs. M. R. Soth ; treasurer, J. H. Wegerslev. 

The chairman appointed a committee on membership, consisting of 
Messrs. E. R. Peters, N. G. Olney, and J. E. Ekstam. 

In July a meeting of the entire membership was held at the school 
building at which time the following were chosen on the board of di- 
rectors: One year term — Mrs. T. H. Welch, J. W. Couch, N. G. 
Olney, E. B. Wells, C. W. Kettle, J. A. Hitchcock, Eugene Garton, 
Mrs. W. J. Miller, Mrs. J. A. Hitchcock, Mrs. Laura Figert; two 
year term — Mrs. M. R. Soth, J. D. Wolcott, T. H. Welch, W. R. 
Ritchie, W. J. Miller, Mrs. W. M. Howe, Mrs. A. A. Wells, Mrs. 
Thomas Roberts, Mrs. J. D. Wolcott, Mrs. James Thomas; three 
year term — Mrs. J. Delahunt, R. E. Belden, R. W. Williams, J. W. 
Jenson, Mae Campbell, Mrs. J. H. Wegerslev, Mrs. M. W. Gamble, 
Mrs. T. L. Roberts, Joel E. Johnson. 

The chairman appointed an executive committee as follows : the 
officers of the chapter and Mrs. E. B. Wells, Mrs. J. Delahunt, W. J. 
Miller, J. W. Couch, R. E. Belden, and T. H. Welch. Other com- 
mittees appointed were: Purchasing committee — Mrs. A. A. Wells, 
Mrs. Geary and Mrs. W. F. Couch; work room and equipment — 
J. W. Jenson, L. C. Burwell, Mrs. J. W. Jenson, Mrs. W. M. Mather, 
Mrs. E. R. Peters, Mrs. T. H. Welch, Mrs. W. J. Watts, Mrs. Frank 
Erickson, and Mrs. M. W. Gamble. 

Activity work was taken up at this time in the basement of the 
Methodist church, which had been secured for the work room, and 
with limited equipment the members did a great deal of work and 
always met their quotas in full and in record time. A committee on 
sewing had been appointed consisting of Mrs. W.M. Mather as chair- 
man, and Maud Ekstam, Claribel Hartshorn, Mrs. C. G. Carlson, 
Mrs. Otto Bergling, Mrs. J. B. Parris, Mrs. H. D. Gillespie, Mrs. J. 
H. Wegerslev, and Mrs. James Thomas. This committee was sub- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 673 

divided as follows: Pajama coats, Mrs. J. H. Wegerslev; pajama 
pants, Mrs. James Thomas ; bed shirts, Mrs. W. M. Mather, convales- 
cent gowns, Mrs. H. D. Gillespie; bed socks, Claribel Hartshorn; 
towels, Maud Ekstam; wash cloths and handkerchiefs, Mrs. J. D. 
Delahunt; sheets, Mrs. C. G. Carlson; pillow cases, Mrs. J. B. Parris; 
knitting, Mrs. T. H. Welch. 

Deep interest was taken by the people of the community in the work 
of the chapter and every call for help was met with a liberal and hearty 
response. The business men were liberal and donated a share of their 
profits at various times. One merchant sent in his bill for supplies 
for the chapter marked paid, and also donated various articles. Each 
activity was made the occasion of a holiday, and the funds poured 
into the treasury in such a manner that there never was any embar- 
rassment in that line. 

NINETEEN EIGHTEEN 

The second year of the chapter was the busy one, and the work 
was pushed with much energy, and while the workers were not so 
numerous, those who did help did so much that the record for filling 
quotas on time never suffered. 

The officers of the chapter for this year were: Chairman, Mrs. 
T. L. Roberts; vice chairman, W. J. Miller; secretary, Mrs. M. R. 
Soth; treasurer, J. H. Wegerslev. 

The executive committee was appointed as follows : The officers, 
together with Mrs. E. B. Wells, Mrs. J. Delahunt, Mrs. J. A. Hitch- 
cock, J. W. Couch, T. H. Welch. 

The membership committee was reappointed, and Mrs. Fannie 
Starrett was made chairman of the work room with the following 
supervisors: Pajama coats, Mrs. J. H. Wegerslev; pajama pants, 
Mrs. James Thomas; convalescent gowns, Mrs. H. D. Gillespie; re- 
fugee and relief work, Claribel Hartshorn and Carrie Wagner; hos- 
pital bed shirts, Maud Ekstam; towels, Mrs. J. W. Couch; sheets, 
Lillian Storm; girls' sewing, Sara Patten; knitting, Mrs. T. H. 
Welch. A purchasing committee composed of Mrs. E. B. Wells and 
Mrs. N. F. Hawk was named by the chairman. The auditing com- 
mittee was W. J. Miller and E. R. Peters; and Mrs. W. J. Miller, 
Esther Johnson, and Jennie Hartshorn were made the committee on 
publicity. 

During the year an auction sale was held in the Sundholm ga- 



674 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

rage, which was well attended and well patronized. Many useful 
articles were donated, and the sale of live stock was quite large. W. 
R. Ritchie was the auctioneer, and N. G. Olney, J. H. Wegerslev, and 
E. B. Wells acted as clerks. The sale netted the chapter a little 
over $4000.00. While this amount was not so large as that of some 
of the neighboring towns, it was sufficient to provide plenty of means 
with which to carry on the work, and the public in general was not 
asked to make further donations. All the funds required from Po- 
land Township in the Red Cross drives for funds for the society in 
general was paid out of the funds of the local chapter. 

The Red Cross work in .the meantime was carried on by the faith- 
ful women of the community and each quota of work was turned out 
before the time asked for, and each working department was kept 
up to standard in efficiency. 

During the year Mrs. T. L. Roberts resigned as chairman, and W. 
J. INIiller was elected to take her place, his place as vice chairman 
being filled by Mrs. E. B. Wells. 

This year the work was not so active, and all unfinished work was 
being rapidly completed. The officers of the society were as follows: 
Chairman, W. J. Miller; vice chairman, Mrs. E. B. Wells; secretary, 
Mrs. M. R. Soth; treasurer, J. H. Wegerslev. 

In January Mrs. Soth resigned as secretary and the treasurer was 
elected to fill the office until the next annual meeting. 

FINANCIAL STATEME:nT 

Receipts: Memberships, $1008.15; auction sale $4164.93; other 
activities, $694.98 ; Nichols lecture, $1 12.75 ; home talent play, $207.64 : 
Decoration Day benefit, $188.69; band concerts, $31.25; shocking 
oats, $35; received from Buena Vista chapter, $476.09; a total of 
$6919.48. 

Expenditures: Supplies, $1264.83; paid Buena Vista chapter, 
$1026.92; express and freight, $19.27; local chapter expense, $689.10; 
second Red. Cross drive, $936; balance on hand, $2983.36. 

In the membership drive, which was conducted by L. C. Burwell, 
the last registered membership was 540. 

The Junior Red Cross made 30 mufflers, 36 sweaters, 34 pairs of 
wristlets, 5 helmets, 6 knitted squares, 2 quilts, i set of quilt blocks, 
3 wash cloths, i ciuilt that was made by the sixth grade. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 675 

The Marathon branch knitted for soldiers: 29 helmets, 201 sweat- 
ers, 54 mufflers, 128 pairs of wristlets, 448 pairs of socks, 4 knitted 
lap robes, 10 wash cloths, 7 knitted squares. 

They made five one-patient outfits, each consisting of 15 suits of 
pajamas, 10 bed shirts, 15 bed socks, 15 socks, 5 convalescent gowns, 
20 hand towels, 10 bath towels, 15 wash rags, 5 slippers, 30 hand- 
kerchiefs. 

Hospital supplies — 97 towels, 19 bath towels, 3 table napkins, 44 
hospital bed shirts, 107 suits of pajamas, 80 convalescent gowns, 43 
bed socks, 8 small bags, 42 handkerchiefs, 31 bed shirts, 17 helpless 
case shirts, 5 taped bed shirts, 48 property bags, 40 comfort bags, 2 
comforts, 30 draw sheets, 39 bed sheets, 46 pillow slips. 

Surgical dressings — 1,290 gauze compresses, 105 irrigation pads, 
230 four-tail muslin bandages, no abdominal bandages, 15 gauze 
rolls, 75 shot bags, 85 many-tail bandages, 36 T bandages, 1,075 
gauze wipes. 

Refugee garments — ^3 men's undershirts, 3 ladies' underwear, 16 
petticoats, 7 hoods, 5 pairs of mittens, 17 dresses, 10 coats, 4 capes, 
I overcoat, 2 boys' wool suits, i ladies' suit, 3 ladies' jackets, 22 stock- 
ings, 7 caps, 14 suits underwear, 8 undershirts, 6 sweaters, i scarf, 
9 vests, 6 dresses, 3 shirts, 2 waists, i house jacket, 4 baby blankets, 
I romper suit, 3 aprons, 2 child's dresses, 20 cotton suits, 5 boy's 
waists, 20 underdrawers, 50 undershirts, 64 underdrawers, 81 girls' 
drawers, 3 pinafores, 15 baby quilts, 63 napkins. 

Report of Newell Branch 

The Newell Red Cross branch was organized in June, 1917. As 
the home boys one after another entered the service interest increased 
in the work, reaching a climax January i, 1918. This was Communi- 
ty Red Cross day. Nearly every woman throughout the vicinity 
brought food for the dinner and some donation for the sale ; while the 
men responded generously in giving thoroughbred stock, poultry, etc. 

The enthusiasm and optimism of the auctioneer, John Layman, to- 
gether with the hearty cooperation of the people, made this sale a 
wonderful success and a red letter day in Newell's history, as $10,000 
was added to the Red Cross fund. 

The fine dinner served in Union Hall, cafeteria style, put every- 
one in good humor and ready for lively bidding. A twenty-six pound 



676 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

turkey was the object of greatest interest, eclipsing the American 
eagle in its flight — as it soared from thirty cents a pound to over 
$140 a pound, netting about $3,800. Later, this notable turkey was 
sent to President Woodrow Wilson at Washington, D. C, and his 
message of thanks will always be prized by the recipient. 

The treasury now being so generously supplied with funds, quanti- 
ties of material were ordered, to be ready for the making of the need- 
ed supplies. Much credit is due to the chairmen of the several com- 
mittees, who worked unceasingly; and the responsiveness of the 
workers, ever ready to help "go over the top" with their quotas, was 
refreshing. A dozen or more groups of women, aside from those knit- 
ting in the homes, worked faithfully week after week making surgical 
dressings, hospital supplies, comfort kits, etc. 

The Junior Red Cross is worthy of commendation, as they proved 
their interest by a one hundred per cent membership and by making 
dozens of refuge garments. 

The Red Cross work surely proved a blessing, not only to the boys 
in service but to those at home, as it was an outlet for 

The strivings of the human soul to do 

Innumerahlc deeds of service true; 

To lift the zvorld fro)n out its sorro'zv vast 

To Peace and Love and Brotherhood at last. 

Officers of the Newell branch were Mrs. George W. Chancy, presi- 
dent; Mrs. W. L. Holtz, secretary ; L. F. Parker, treasurer; and in ad- 
dition to these the executive committee consisted of Mrs. James 
Rogers, Mrs. W. D. Rust Sr., Mrs. F. C. Foley, Mrs. E. M. Barnard, 
Mrs. L. F. Parker, Mrs. Carl Trukken, Mrs. H. H. Linton, Mrs. Wm. 
Huxtable, Mrs. George Anderson, Mrs. W. A. Olsen. Membership 
increased from 623 in 191 7, to 781 in 1918, and 901 in 19 19. The 
branch sent a total of $4,644.64 to the national Red Cross. In ad- 
dition to the $10,000 mentioned previously as the returns of the sale 
and community supper, the branch raised $3,330.64 by solicitation. 
Miss Hallie Kinney directed the membership drive for 191 7 and 1919, 
while Mrs. G. W. Chaney directed the work for 1918. The respec- 
tive chairman of each working committee was : Knitting, Mrs. Belle 
Norton, Mrs. C. A. Althen, Mrs. Peter Madsen; surgical dressings, 
Mrs. L. F. Parker, Mrs. C. A. Collins; pajamas, Miss Ella Rasmus- 
sen, Mrs. J. E. Holden, Mrs. Wm. Huxtable; hospital shirts, Mrs. G. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 677 

W. Chaney, Mrs. Carl Trukken; refugee garments, Mrs. G. W. Cha- 
ney, Mrs. Carl Trukken; small articles, Mrs. Henry Williams; com- 
fort kits, Mrs. M. A. Armstrong; purchasing, Mrs. F. C. Foley; local 
disaster. Dr. F. C. Foley. 

Members of this branch made 1,393 hospital garments, 776 items 
of hospital supplies, 9,234 surgical dressings, 516 refugee garments, 
1,626 articles for soldiers and sailors, 265 parts of layettes, and 2,181 
miscellaneous articles. 

Newell raised the sum of $15,998.44 for Red Cross purposes. Of 
this amount $10,000 was raised in the Red Cross auction sale and this 
sum was used to provide materials for local work. In the several 
membership drives $1,314 was secured; in the first war fund the sum 
of $1,504.16 was subscribed, and in the second war drive it was in- 
creased to $1,826.48. These last three items were all forwarded to 
the National Red Cross. 

Auctioneers whose work contributed to the success of the Red 
Cross sale were E. P. and John Layman and C. A. Bodholt. 

Report of Sioux Rapids Branch 

The Sioux Rapids branch of the Amercian Red Cross was organ- 
ized at the home of Mrs. T. M. Murdock May 25, 1917, by represen- 
tatives of the several aid societies, having fourteen names. A mem- 
bership campaign was soon started and the membership brought up 
to an efficient working force. 

Work in hospital supplies was started in the Masonic Hall under 
the chairmanship of Mrs. George Boynton, while Mrs. E. M. Duroe 
conducted the campaign for knitted garments from her home. Later, 
the work room was moved to the Bank of Sioux Rapids building 
until 1918, when the plan of small circles in various homes under com- 
petent directors was adopted. 

In January the making of surgical dressings was started in the 
rooms of the Bank of Sioux Rapids, with Mrs. A. W. Wilson as 
chairman. This work was later carried on at the schoolhouse. In 
practically every instance the cooperation of everyone was fine and 
the many calls for work most cheerfully complied with. This time 
of anxiety to all proved to be also a time of better understanding of 
each other. The spirit of "get together" which was engendered and 



678 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

the broader charity developed are a testimony of the vakie of ser- 
vices for others. 

The membership which was 497 in 191 7, grew to 572 in 1918, and 
for 1919 it was 306. The total money sent to the National Red Cross 
was $1,926.76. For local work there was raised at a public sale, at 
which W. R. Ritchie was the auctioneer, the sum of $7,000.17. At 
this sale a rooster and a calf were sold and resold until each brought 
a large sum. C. L. Sipe was chairman of the committee which per- 
fected and carried out the plans for this sale. 

During the year 191 7 Mrs. A. W. Wilson served as chairman, 
while Mrs. R. R. Burr and Mrs. J. A. Smith acted as secretary. Mrs. 
L. R. White was chairman for the two years, 1918-1919; the secre- 
tary for 1918 was Mrs. W. H. Clark and for 1919 was Mrs. G. M. 
Sherman. The chairman of the knitting committee was Mrs. E. M. 
Duroe during 191 7, but for the following two years Mrs. L P. David- 
son served in that capacity. The chairman of hospital supplies for 
1917 was Mrs. George Boynton, while the following two years that 
work was directed by Mrs. L. A. Torkelson. The surgical dressings 
chairman was Mrs. A. W. Wilson ; chairman of comfort kits, Mrs. 
F. Mather ; chairman home service, C. L. Sipe. 

During the period of active work of the Siovix Rapids branch the 
members made 216 absorbent cotton pads, 20 irrigation pads, 311 
bandages, 440 sponges, 85 scultetus bandages, 10 splint straps, 1530 
dressings, 108 gun wipe packages, 202 shot bags, 929 gauze wipers, 
1,005 hospital garments, 415 pieces of hospital supplies, 539 refugee 
garments, 1,244 articles for soldiers and sailors. 

First Aid Class 

In the spring of 1918 a class in first aid to the injured was organ- 
ized in Storm Lake by Mrs. C. F. Wellmerling, chairman of chapter 
first aid committee, with Dr. E. D. Banghart as instructor. This 
course proved very interesting and profitable to the members of the 
class. Examinations were taken and the course completed May 24th, 
Those receiving certificates were: Mrs. E. D. Banghart, Edith 
Cooke, Dorothy Franke, Mrs. Jas. Holmes, Mrs. C. B. McGill, Mrs. 
C. T. Millard, Mrs. Thos. Park, Mrs. E. E. Schor, Mrs. L. S. Todd. 
Mrs. Ralph Van Buskirk, Mrs. C. F. Wellmerling, Alice E. Wilcox. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 679 

Motor Transport Corps 

This branch of service was organized as an adjunct to the Storm 
Lake branch of the Red Cross, and its first service was performed in 
the fall of 1918 when the Red Cross hospital was established in the 
Odd Fellows lodge hall, and the members of the transport corps took 
upon themselves the duty of assembling the quantity of kitchen equip- 
ment and ward furnishings that were necessary. Mrs. J. H. O'Don- 
oghue was commander and Miss Grace Buland the secretary of this 
group of workers. During the winter the young lady members 
took instruction in driving and quick repair work from competent 
mechanics of the city who, in this manner, contributed to the success 
of the organization. 

In October, 1918, Miss Alta Burns, a member of the corps, went to 
Chicago to enlist for overseas service in such work. She was accept- 
ed, but the signing of the armistice soon after removed any occasion 
for her to go overseas. 

Red Cross Notes 

Soldiers leaving in the several contingents were each given a com- 
fort kit and a housewife, an assemblage of a dozen little conven- 
iences which L^ncle Sam did not feel called upon to furnish, but hav- 
ing, enabled the soldier boy to be better able to take care of his every 
day needs. 

In the organization of the Junior Red Cross, forty-eight schools 
were organized, with a total of 3,546 pupils. Activities began in 
August, 191 7. 

As Christmas, 1918, approached, it was announced that only one 
parcel of gifts would be permitted to be shipped overseas, and the 
handling of these was delegated to the Red Cross. 

"The Red Cross Nurse," an interesting war-time play was given 
by home talent at Marathon and Storm Lake, in each case netting a 
neat sum to the local organizations of the Red Cross. 

As a recognition of worthy services rendered, the emblem of the Red 
Cross was bestowed upon 100 women who had sewed or knitted 
thirty-two hours. Thirty women were presented with crosses and 
ribbons for 128 hours of work. This ceremony took place at Storm 
Lake May 14, 1918. 

When the need of a ■ new element for newly-invented gas masks 



68o HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

was made known the local Red Cross began the collection of nut 
shells and fruit pits, from which was made the charcoal that made 
the masks effective. Seven pounds of pits were required for one 
mask. 

Twenty members took a course of instruction in the home care of 
the sick under Mrs. E. S. Ballou. 

The proceeds of a public supper given December 21, 191 7, by the 
Yeomen lodge of Storm Lake were given to the Red Cross. 

Red Cross sales at different points in the county netted approxi- 
mate sums as follows: Rembrandt, $5,000; Linn Grove, figures not 
given; Highview, $3,200; Albert City, $8,000, included in which was 
a turkey that sold at $4,000. At a sale at Fairview Consolidated 
School, a rooster sold and resold until it raised $167, while a turkey 
brought $200. 

Report of Storm Lake Branch 

Organization of the Storm Lake branch was effected with practi- 
cally the same officers who had been named to lead and direct the 
county work, because of their intimate knowledge of the demands 
of the task set for them. The first officers were: Chairman, Mrs. 
U. S. Parrish; vice chairman, Mrs. J. H. O'Donoghue; secretary, 
Mrs. F. P. Kinne ; treasurer, Mr. George J. Schaller. 

Funds were needed as well as memberships, and in June, on regis- 
tration day, thirty young ladies divided into committees went out to 
canvass business and residence districts. At the end of the day they 
brought in $700 in money, and presented a roll of five hundred new 
members. 

Donations were made, the first large one being a gift of $100 by a 
member of the P. E. O. sisterhood. Another $100 gift followed short- 
ly and many smaller donations were made by interested individuals. 

During the summer of 191 7 work in hospital supplies was under 
the direction of Mrs. George Coulson, assisted by Mrs. August Dlu- 
gosch and Mrs. H. E. Swope. In the making of comforts for fight- 
ing men, together with comfort kits and knitting, Mrs. S. B. McMakin 
had charge. Mrs. J. A. Schmitz, assisted by Miss Cora Siberall, di- 
rected the making of surgical dressings ; Mrs. J. H. O'Donoghue was 
superintendent of the women's bureau. A class of first aid was given 
a course of instruction by Dr. J. H. O'Donoghue, and examined by 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 6Si 

Dr. J. A. Swallum. By the end of this year the Storm Lake branch 
had accumulated a fund of $2,256.68 with which to carry on further 
work and as a nucleus for a larger fund to be raised through the year. 

When it came time to effect a reorganization in October, 1917, 
Mrs. J. H. O'Donoghue was named for chairman, Mrs. J. A. Schmitz 
as vice chairman, Mrs. George Sedgwick was chosen secretary, and 
Mr. P. C. Toy as treasurer. 

First aid instruction was continued, with Dr. E. D. Banghart as- 
sisting the two physicians who have been formerly mentioned in this 
connection. Mrs. Ernest Ballou, herself well trained in the care of 
the sick, conducted classes of instruction in this work, while the prob- 
lem of dietetics was covered by Miss Violet Pammel, who abandoned 
a position as domestic science instructor in the high school to give 
service as dietitian in the base hospital at Camp Lewis, Washington. 

BLIZZARD ON SALE DAY 

During the winter it was decided to hold a Red Cross sale in Storm 
Lake to secure funds for the local needs. The sale was to be inau- 
gurated by a community dinner at noon, with the sale following, and 
supper served at the regular evening hour. 

It was hard luck that the day set, January 12, 1918, should prove 
to be the most severely cold and stormy day of a record-breaking cold 
winter. But even in the midst of this blizzard, one thousand people 
surprised the management by appearing at the noon hour at the ap- 
pointed place, the Lakeside church, for their dinner. Food was gen- 
erously donated for this splendidly served meal. Every creed, class, 
and clique was there, working in harmony, for the success of an ef- 
fort which demonstrated the finest community spirit ever seen in town. 

Postponement of the sale for one week was found to be advisable 
because of weather conditins, so it was agreed that another community 
dinner should be served. Again a thousand people were fed and 
again the committee in charge proved fully equal to the task of din- 
ing so large a company generously and with dispatch. For this day 
the food had not been solicited, but with the exception of the fresh, 
homemade pies had been purchased by the committee and paid for 
from the receipts of the dinner. 

Reenforced by a good dinner, the company was in good spirits for 
the sale which was held in the big Spahn-Rose lumber shed, the wea- 



682 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

ther being still too cold for an out-of-doors assemblage. The men 
largely responsible for the sale, Fred P. Foster, H. G. Mittlestadt, Pat 
Clancy, and T. D. Filers, had made a canvass of the county for live 
stock which was offered for sale by Ray C. Point, and with other ar- 
ticles contributed netted the sum of $8,500. The largest single in- 
come producer of the sale was a Red Cross goose which sold and re- 
sold until it netted $4,600. This accomplishment won for the bird 
sufficient distinction that it was counted a worthy present for a high 
dignitary, so the next week Colonel George Currier and E. B. Acker- 
man of Province Township took the goose to Iowa's capital city and 
presented it to Governor W. L. Harding. 

The Red Cross treasury was replenished with $880 from the first 
dinner and $380 from the second dinner. With these resources in 
the treasury the ladies of the branch and the community were free to 
bend all their energies to the making of supplies, without the ne- 
cessity of worrying about funds with which to buy the needed materials. 

Generosity with the Red Cross did not cease with this effort. 
Throughout the year contributions were made to the fund which made 
possible a stead}' continuance of work. Donations of time, talent, and 
money aided in splendid cooperation with the Red Cross. Especially 
should attention be called to the help of the Masonic and Yeoman 
lodges, the Order of Eastern Star, the W.C.T.U., the I.O.O.F., the 
Storm Lake band, the library board, the Commercial Club, various 
women's and girls' clubs and other organizations, as well as many 
individuals who gave unsolicitated donations of money. The tele- 
phone management and service, the postoffice force, and the press of 
the city are credited with services which contributed to the success 
of the work. 

During the year there were donations made to the amount of 
$2269.08, the majority of the donors seeking no publicity through 
their gifts. Probably the first in the year was a "tag day" conducted 
by the Women's Relief Corps, when $171.17 was netted for the Red 
Cross. At a time when the work was urgent and it was facilitated 
appreciably by such a gift a kindly disposed citizen presented the 
branch with an electric cutting machine for the use of the hospital 
supplies and refugees' relief committees. 

The Storm Lake band gave weekly concerts all summer and turned 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 683 

over their entire net proceeds to the Red Cross, besides giving their 
services for the benefit of the organization on other occasions. 

Shortage of help was experienced by the farmers during the har- 
vest season. Several business men went to the rescue, giving to the 
Red Cross the returns of their labor. Young girls, also, went into 
the fields and shocked grain, donating their pay also. Ladies gave 
their services in arranging dances and luncheons, the proceeds of 
which were given to the Reid Cross. 

An entertainment feature that attracted unusual attention was 
the presentation of "The Red Cross Nurse," with Everett Walker, 
comedian, directing, assisted by Roy U. Kinne and Ray Samuels, with 
a cast of Storm Lake home talent assisting. 

The entire basement of the public library was made available as a 
surgical dressings and packing room; the M. E. church basement 
provided similar conveniences for the making of hospital supplies and 
refugees' relief garments. All of the churches opened their audito- 
riums for public gatherings under Red Cross auspices. 

When the season became so cold that public buildings which were 
only occasionally opened were too cold for assemblage, private homes 
were opened for the work of these committees — and, of course, this 
involved the use of sewing machines and similar equipment. 

NEED FOR EMERGENCY HOSPITAL 

Signing of the armistice on November 11, 1918, permitted the Red 
Cross to pass the peak of its activities — yet there remained one im- 
portant emergency service that could not be overlooked in a time of 
such stress. 

Buena Vista College had one hundred and twenty-five young men 
from this and adjoining counties in the Students Army Training 
Corps when the Spanish influenza became an epidemic. Because of 
the demand for nurses everywhere it was impossible to get nurses 
for individual cases. To meet the situation, a Red Cross hospital 
was fitted up in the LO.O.F. hall, where the regalia and lodge ec|uip- 
ment had to be removed temporarily for the installation of the hos- 
pital equipment. Mrs. Ernest Ballou and Mrs. A. E. Webb assumed 
responsibility for management of the afifair and direction of the nurs- 
ing, and were given assistance by other nurses. The special commit- 
tee appointed to oversee this humanitarian enterprise consisted of 



684 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Mayor W. C. Edson, Mrs. J. A. Schmitz, Mrs. Bert Lewis, Mrs. S. 
Olinger, Mrs. J. H. O'Donoghue and Mr. George Sedgwick. Dr. E. 
F. Smith who had been appointed by the War Department as sur- 
geon for the S.A.T.C. was the doctor in charge. 

Acknowledgement of the service rendered by this great work was 
made through the following letter written on behalf of the college 
management to the committee: 

Storm Lake, Iowa, November 8, 191 8. 
Mrs. J. H. O'Donoghue, Storm Lake, Iowa. 

My Dear Madam : The trustees, faculty and students of Buena 
Vista College desire to tender to the Storm Lake branch of the Red 
Crr'ss their sincere thanks and appreciation for your efiforts in behalf 
of the members of the Students Army Training Corps at the college. 
This ought to go down in the history of Storm Lake as one of the 
splendid things done by your chapter. We have been informed that this 
was the only unit in the Students Army Training Corps in the cen- 
tral division where no lives were lost from the epidemic of Spanish 
influenza. 

Will you, as president of the organization, extend to its members 
our thanks for what you have done? 

Very truly yours 
Buena Vista Coi^lege 
W. C. Edson, Chairman Board of Trustees. 
W. M. Storey, Secretary Board of Trustees. 

The Spanish influenza continuing, it was deemed expedient to es- 
tablish a Red Cross hospital for civilian reUef. The upper floor of 
the Benson building, at the corner of Third and Railroad streets, was 
rented and Miss Luella Burns installed as nurse in charge. Mrs. J. 
A. Schmitz, Mrs. Charles Richardson, and Mrs. H. E. Swope were 
the committee in control. Generous donations were received, such 
as beds and bedding, furnishings, and supplies. Care was given a 
number of patients. The hospital closed the latter part of February. 

MAKE HOME-COMING HAPPY 

Four months after the signing of the armistice our boys from over- 
seas and from the several camps in this country were gradually re- 
turning to home and friends, and the Red Cross decided to give them 
a fitting welcome home. To this end a "Home-Coming Committee" 
was appointed, consisting of John R. Bell, Rev. John Erb, Chas. H. 
J. Mitchell, Mrs. U. S. Parrish, Miss Frieda Witter, Miss Wynn La- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 685 

Grange, Mrs. G. M. Pedersen, Dr. W. M. Storey, P. J. Toohey, Lou 
Thomas, E. L. O'Conner, C. C. Colwell and A. T' Troeger. 

The first reception arranged by this committee was held January 
24, IQ19, in the display rooms of Brader's garage, a beautiful new 
building of large capacity, which was appropriately decorated for 
the occasion. A short program was given, with speeches and music, 
and an exhibition drill by Lieutenant Schwarz. F. F. Faville, a 
former citizen of Storm Lake, gave the principal address. Refresh- 
ments were served to the 1500 people present, after which dancing 
was enjoyed for the remainder of the evening. 

On May 2d another home reception was given the returned sol- 
diers, as their numbers had been largely increased since the January 
reception. Carney's Hall, a recently finished improvement to the 
city, accommodated the 2,000 people who had assembled to do honor to 
the men returned from serving our country. Again a program of 
music preceded a patriotic address, given this time by Hon. James 
B. Weaver, president of the state organization of the Red Cross, the 
man who signed the charter for the Buena Vista Chapter, and who 
was prominent as the Polk County representative in the Iowa legis- 
lature. Ice cream and the homemade cakes for which the boys so 
often longed were the treat provided. Again dancing with the maids 
at home was a diversion which inspired in the maids a sense of pride 
as keen as the satisfaction the soldiers experienced in again being at 
home. 

When Storm Lake decided to make its Independence Day celebra- 
tion for the summer of 1919 a reception to the soldiers, members of 
the Red Cross united to' extend to the visiting soldiers, sailors, and 
marines a canteen service that would remind them of all the best that 
they had had in days of real army service. At a stand on the lake 
front, the ladies served free to the service men, refreshments and 
smokes that made them happy the day long. On this occasion Hon. 
J. R. Files of Fort Dodge was the orator who made the special 
address. 

FIGURES TELL THIS STORY 

Other interesting points of the development of the activities of the 
Storm Lake branch are shown by the fact that in 191 7 the member- 
ship was 835, in 1918 it was 2,161, while in 1919 it was 1,360. De- 
crease in memberships is apparent from the fact that all member- 



686 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

ships under eighteen years were registered in the Junior organization, 
and also because no gift memberships were soHcited. During the 
time when road conditions were the worst some of the country terri- 
tory was not sohcited for memberships. Of the money that was 
raised, $3,345.23 was sent to the National Red Cross; $6,882.07 was 
raised from the sales held ; $843.97 was netted as a result of communi- 
ty meals served, $3,139.03 was assembled in. outright donations, and 
the total of all money raised, including memberships, was $22,833.33. 
The total of sewing and knitted work credited to the combined branch- 
es of the county was: Pajamas 3,498, bath robes 510, bed jackets 
235, operating leggins 40, pillow cases 795, towels 1,545, napkins 624, 
tray cloths 354, wash cloths 1,082, hot water bag covers 83, handker- 
chiefs 1,355, comfort pillows 71, bed sheets 2,216, draw sheets 78, 
boxes of clippings 4, pairs of ward slippers 5, Christmas packages 52, 
completed comfort kits 250, empty comfort kits 23, partially filled 
comfort kits 45, wall kits 33, partially filled housewives 23, empty 
housewives 26, pairs of scissors 7, adhesive tape 6, property bags 5, 
afghans 20, property kits 892, convalescent suits 57, complete layettes 
50, refugee garments 3,080, surgical dressings 49,290, pairs of socks 
5,172, sweaters 2,242, helmets 403, mufilers 590, pairs of wristlets 
1,050. 

FINANCI.\L REPORT 

Buena Vista County Chapter and Storm Lake branch funds were 
not kept separately, and part of the items shown in the following 
financial statement are funds such as memberships and war funds 
that were handled for the other branches. The showing is for the 
full time from organization until July i, 1919. It follows: 

Receipts: Hospital supplies sold, $59.60; receipts of Red Cross 
hospital, $261.35; Junior Red Cross Magazine subscriptions, $4: tin 
foil sold, $10.97; Red Cross badges sold, $8; proceeds from dances 
and other benefits, $585.70; instructions of classes, $93.95; class books 
sold, $27.30; Red Cross pins sold, $9.45 ; country club luncheons $52.14; 
balance from county Red Cross picnic, $5.27; received from harvest 
work by business men, $121 ; merchandise sold by branches, $5.335-71 5 
membership dues, $10,716.25; donations, $2,732.31; receipts of com- 
munity dinners, $843.97 ; thermometers sold, $3 ; received for cutting 
material, $11.37; home-coming reception supplies sold, $28; canteen 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 687 

service supplies sold, $17; refund on war fuuds, $6,240.95; receipts 
of community sale, $6,882.07; a total of $34,048.66. 

Disbursements: Rent of chairs 30 cents; livery for delivery of 
supplies, $5; janitor service, $2; typewriting, $26; telephone and tele- 
grams, $32.91 ; express, freight, and drayage, $137.18; electricity and 
supplies, $14.71 ; printing and postage, $400.47; Christmas boxes, 
$12.50; expenses of cutting machine instructor, $3.61 ; rental of cjuar- 
ters, $50; lumber for packing boxes, $59.28; instruction of classes, 
$23.50; expenses of Junior Red Cross, $62.77; delegates' expenses to 
regional convention, $18.90; insurance on material, $21.24; expenses 
of band, $12; civilian relief, $194.82; heating church for community 
dinners, $7 ; refund on lunch cloth sold at sale, $5 ; receipts of play 
to national headquarters, $74.52; refund of Albert City- membership 
dues, $6; national headquarters membership dues, $7,628; yarn and 
other merchandise, $11,374.35 ; proportion of war fund, $3,160.30; 
refund on war fund to branches, $4,325.10; expenses of home-coming 
receptions, $343.20; advertising Christmas drive, $32.20; canteen ser- 
vice July 4th, $97.48 ; flowers for sick, $5 ; hospital expenses, 
$1,796.06; balance in bank, including hospital fund, $4,117.26. 

West Hayes Auxiliary 

This group of ladies, ten in number, met in private homes every two 
weeks, with work that consisted mostly of sewing and knitting. Each 
lady took extra work home, on which to keep busy between meetings. 
Members knitted 4 sweaters, 30 pairs of socks, and 20 wristlets. They 
sewed 150 hospital bed shirts, 204 hand towels, 12 hot water bag cov- 
ers, 10 operating leggins. The laches also did some refugee work, 
making 46 ladies' skirts and 18 boys' waists. They made and filled 
7 comfort kits — and all the time were counted as full fledged Red 
Cross workers. Miss Daisy Fultz was the secretary of this group. 

Report of Truesdale Branch 

In 1917, 108 memberships yielded $189; in 1918, 105 memberships 
raised $110; in 1919, 197 members raised $198. The total of all 
money raised, including memberships, was $1,175. 

This branch made 1171 surgical dressings, 11 hospital garments, 
130 pieces of hospital supplies, 40 refugee garments, 144 articles for 
soldiers and sailors. 



688 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA-VISTA COUNTY 

For 1917 the organization was as follows: Chairman, Mrs. Ed 
Sweet; vice chairman, Mrs. Ed Vogel, secretary, Mrs. H. Steinhilber; 
treasurer, H. H. Lang. For 1918-1919 the officers who served were: 
Chairman, Mrs. Walter Ernst; vice chairman, Mrs. Bert Walker; 
secretary. Miss Wanda Berkler; treasurer, H. H. Lang. 

The chairman of the sewing committee was Mrs. Gossit; knitting 
committee, Mrs. Martin; inspecting committee, Mrs. H. Steinhilber; 
purchasing committee, Mrs. T. E. Walker; surgical dressings com- 
mittee, Mrs. E. F. Sweet. 

Roster Red Cross Workers^ 

ALTA 

Mrs. M. Ankerson, Kista Ankerson, Mrs. C. M. Reese, J. A. Allen, 
Mrs. J. H. Allen, Mrs. A. J. Anderson, Edna Allen, Mrs. Jennie An- 
derson, Mrs. J. A. Berkeland, Mrs. G. A. Benson, Mrs. James C. Bell, 
Mrs. Elmer C. Benson, Mrs. R. C. Brogmus, Mrs. Wm. Batten, Louise 
Isbell, David H. Carpenter, Mrs. David H. Carpenter, Miss Margue- 
rite Carpenter, Grace demons, Mrs. E. W. Clemons, Mrs. N. A. 
Chirstensen, Audry Christensen, C. E. Cameron, Mrs. C. E. Cameron, 
Mrs. John Cavey, Mrs. Martha J. Connor, Bertie Claybaugh, Ida 
Claybaugh, Mrs. Peter Cox, O. P. Dagger, Mrs. O. P. Dagger, Pearl 
Davenport, Golman Davenport, Mrs. S. P. DeLay, Leone DeLay. 
Geo. B. Fanning, Mrs. Geo. B Fanning, Mrs. Frank Friedlund, Mrs. 
C. S. Grabin, Mrs..B. Gurney, Mrs. Lincoln Gurney, Maletta Gurney, 
Mrs. George Gosmire, Mrs. J. F. Haight, Mrs. C. J. Hetrick, Stella 
Haight, Lethe Haight, Mrs. D. E. Hadden, Lola Hadden, Mrs. C. 
Hille, Alvira Hille, Mrs. C. P. Holmes, Miss Ellen Holmes, Mrs. J. 
C. Henkel, Mrs. T. J. Holmes, Mrs. Gus Helgerson, Mrs. G. E. Hol- 
lingsworth, H. J. Hoffeins, Mrs. H. J. Hoffeins, Mrs. C. C. Iverson, 
Mrs. Swan Johnson, Augusta E. Johnson, Mrs. C. J. Jimmerson, 
Olive Jimmerson, Hazel Jimmerson, Mrs. L. E. Jockheck, Mrs. Louis 
Johnson, Lillian Johnson, Myrtle Johnson, Nels Johansen, Mrs. Chris 
Jensen, Mrs. John Lindhe, Mrs. C. E. Larsen, Mrs. H. S. Larson, 
Mrs. Lars Larson, Lillian Larson, Mrs. H. J. Litchenberg, Ora Lit- 
chenberg, Elizabeth Litchenberg, Mrs. Hans C. Larsen, Geneva Lar- 

iWe have tried to give as many names of people who have assisted with Red Cross 
work as posible. We presented questionnaires to all families in the county and secured 
information from the families in the county as to the work that each member of the 
family had done in the various activities. The names given were secured from the ques- 
tionnaires which were returned to us. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 689 

sen, Mrs. Eddie Larsen, Miss Mary Lindlief, C. A. Lindlief, C. A. 
Lindlief, Cliris E. Larsen, Mrs. C. Larsen, Miss Pearl Maggs, Mrs. 
R. T. McElderry, Mrs. P. Morrissey, Miss Maude Morrissey, Miss 
Millicent Morrissey, Lola Morrissey, Helen Morrissey, Mavie Mikle- 
son, Mrs. C. H. Millard, Mrs. Oakman, Mrs. J. Jay Parker, Leah 
Parker, Alvira Peterson, Mrs. C. J. Parker, Mrs. C. D. Peterson, 
Mrs. E. E. Peterson, Miss Helen Peterson, Miss Florence Peterson, 
Mrs. August Peterson, Mrs. E. L. Pearson, Samuel Parker, Mrs. 
Samuel Parker, Mrs. John Poulson, Mrs. Langlett, Rebecca Poulson, 
C. F. Peterson, Mrs. C. F. Peterson, Elsie Peterson, Roy H. Wilkin- 
son, Mrs. Roy H. Wilkinson, Mrs. George Walton, Mrs. Martin 
Willfong, Rose Willfong, Phoebe Popham, Mrs. J. F. Porter, Mrs. 
Anton Peterson, Mrs. Wesley Reynolds, Mrs. W. C. Rowlands, Mrs. 
Wm. Rawn, Mrs. A. C. Rader, Mrs. John Swanson, Elsie Swanson, 
Mrs. Lena Peterson, Mrs. J. L. Slutz, Miss Lena Peterson, Miss 
Carrie Smith, Mrs. Orris Swanson, INIrs. C. Stamm, Mrs. James 
Staples, Mrs. W. M. Smith, Selma Soderquist, Evelyn Soderquist, 
Nellie Soderquist, Thomas Scambler, Mrs. Thomas Scambler, Mrs. 
A. Cone, Fern Hazel Scambler, Mrs. Albert Swenson, Mrs. E. C. 
Thatcher, G. F. Tincknell, Miss Florence Tincknell, Marjorie Tinck- 
nell. Sybil Tincknell, Mrs. Mary J. Tincknell, Mrs. C. A. Van Bus- 
kirk, Jesse Wilkinson, Mrs. Jesse Wilkinson, Mrs. J. Wilkinson, Sr., 
John B. Walker, Mrs. John B. Walker, Mildred Walker, Mrs. C. D. 
Wilcox, W. W. Ullom, Mrs. W. W. Ullom, Julia Ullom. 

FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP AND ALBERT CITY 

Mrs. Oscar Fark, C. E. Gulbranson, Mrs. C. E. Gulbranson, W. M. 
Hansen, W. W. Kischer, Mrs. W. W. Kischer, C. J. Lorengren, 
Frank D. Linder, Mrs. Frank D. Linder, H. W. Lampe, O. Nelson, 
Alfred Paul, B. A. Peterson, Mrs. B. A. Peterson, Miss Jennie J. 
Smith, A. J. Ryden, Mrs. A. J. Ryden, G. T. Swenson, Mrs. G. E. 
Swenson, S. M. Danielson, Mrs. J. G. Lodine, Mrs. F. T Youngquist, 
Mrs. G. R. Anderson, Carl Anderson, Aug. Anderson, Mrs. Aug. 
Anderson, Axel Beina, Mrs.' B. S. Byson, Mrs. C. J. Benna, A. L. 
Bergling, Mrs. A. L. Bergling, Mrs. B. B. Bridge, J. F. Boyd, Ralph 
E. Carlson, Jesse Caskey, C. H. Englund, Mrs. J. P. Eckman, J. P. 
Eckman, Elmer Walstead, Ernest Warren, Andy Walstead, Mrs. 
C. A. Walner. 



690 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

BROOKE TOWNSHIP 

Mrs. John Chilgren, Mrs. Morris Anderson, Miss Lillie Anderson, 
Mrs. A. B. Colman, i\Irs. W. M. Grapinthin, Mrs. W. M. Haxby, 
Mrs. Frens Hanson, Mrs. T. O. Halverson, Mrs. Richard Peterson, 
Mrs. B. J. Peterson, D. E. Smith, C. L. Haight, Mrs. C. L. Haight, 
Mrs. John Swanson, Mrs. N. P. Christenson, Miss Hanah Christen- 
sen, Miss Nettie Christensen, Mrs. Howard Davis, Mrs. R. J. Brad- 
ley, Miss Edna Bradley, William H. Boese, Mrs. Herman Boese, 
Mrs. William Rutter. 

COON TOWNSHIP 

Henry F. Almholtz, J. G. Anderson, A. Engler, H. W. Griffel, J. 
C. Gran, Mrs. A. E. Madison, Cora Madison, John J. Thompson, 
Henry D. Thieman, Ross Wilson, H. Wendrup. 

ELK TOWNSHIP 

Mrs. A. W. Buckingham, L. C. Kramer, Mrs. L. C. Kramer, 
Henry W. Haase, Mrs. Henry W. Haase, Mrs. C. N. Christensen, 
C. N. Christensen, Mrs. Jacob Johnson, Miss Marguerite Johnson, 
John R. Pierson, Gertrude Hansen, Amelia Halverson, Mrs. J. A. 
Buckingham, Mrs. Geo. N. Booth, Mrs. Frank Vetcher, Mrs. N. E. 
Burgeson, Nettie David, P. H. Hansen, Mrs. Bertel Hansen, Mrs. 
Emery C. Jorgensen, Mrs. Ed. Johnson, Mrs. Claus Johnson, Claus 
Johnson, A. C. Johnson, Mrs. A. C. Johnson, Mrs. Carl Johnson, 
Nellie M. Johnson, Albin Johnson, Mrs. Jacob Johnson, Mrs. Jorgen 
Larson, Miss Anna Larson, Mrs. Peter Langlett, Mrs. Randrup 
Miller, Lillie Madsenk, Mrs. Christian Swenson, Mrs. A. G. Meyer, 
Mrs. Soren Miller, Mrs. J. A. O'Banion, J. R. Pierson, Mrs. J. R. 
Pierson, Miss Sigrid Peterson, Mrs. Carl E. Peterson, Mrs. Will 
Reckoff, Ed. Rhenstrom, Mrs. Ed. Rhenstrom, Mrs. Edward Ryd- 
strom, J. F. Vanderhoff, Anna Vanderhoff, Mary Vanderhoff, Mrs. 
Aaron Vanderhoff. 

GRANT TOWNSHIP 

Rev. F. Albrecht, Fred H. Higgins, J. M. Hussey, Ed. C. Spooner, 
Mrs. R. A. Corbin, Mrs. N. M. Hoffman. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 691 

HAYES TOWNSHIP 

Mrs. E. L. Chadwick, Mrs. Charles Christensen, Mrs. J. A. Chind- 
lund, Evylin Chindlund, Opal Chindlund, Mrs. F. W. Crowley, Mrs. 
Frank Eckhardt, Mrs. Ross Fultz, Daisy Fultz, Job Francis, Grove 
Francis, Orpho Francis, Mrs. J. E. Fultz, Mrs. Robert C. Fulton, 
Mrs. W. E. Gaffey, Mrs. Henry Grieme, Mrs. S. R. Harris, S. R. 
Harris, Mrs. Jacob Horth, Mrs. W. F. Horth, Mrs. Frank Johnson, 
Mrs. M. G. Kimal, A. O. Mainhard, Mrs. Wm. Oatman, Mrs. C. H. 
Peters, Mrs. Wm. Pike, Mrs. J. H. Ross. 

LEE TOWNSHIP 

Mrs. B. E. Tremain, Ruth Tremain, Miss Mildred Lee, Olive Byam, 
Mrs. Sam Bennett, Mrs. Margaret Evans, Mrs. T. R. Fairchild, Mrs. 
Joe Gunderson, Louis Hadenfeldt, Mrs. C. L. Jones, Levi G. Lands- 
ness, Mrs. C. H. Pewsey, E. P. WilHams. 

LINCOLN TOWNSHIP 

Henry Hadenfeldt, Mrs. Henry Hadenfeldt, Mrs. Albert Meyers, 
Mrs. O. Olson, M. C. Renland, Mrs. M. C. Renland, A. E. Sivert, 
Mrs. A. E. Sivert, E. S. Sivert, Mrs. E. S. Sivert, Mrs. R. R. Smith, 
Mrs. Mary Siekman, Miss Amelia Siekman, Mrs. Aug. Siekman, 
Miss Edna Siekman, Mrs. J. F. Taylor, Mrs. Bert Walker, Mrs. 
Geo. W. Zesbe, Mrs. Louis Wittmer, Mrs. Chas. Wittmer, Cecil 
Dahlstrom, Mrs. Ed. Dahlstrom, Ellen Dahlstrom, Elsie Dahlstrom, 
Miss Beda Anderson, Miss Esther Anderson, Mrs. John Atkins, 
Mrs. W. F. Burkler, Miss Wanda L. Burkler, W. F. Burkler, Chas. 
Blomgren, Miss Media Blomgren, Earl Blomgren, Mrs. J. H. Chase, 
Mrs. R. A. Edwards, Mrs. Earl Richardson, Mrs. Art Flannigan, 
Bea Gavin, Miss Ruby Hutchison. 

LINN GROVE AND BARNES TOWNSHIP 

Mrs. Otto Dokken, Mrs. Edward Evans, Harry E. Erickson, Mrs. 
Henry E. Erickson, John T. Evans, C. A. Fulton, Mrs. C. A. Fulton, 
Mrs. C. O. Friedlund, Mrs. H. Haroldson, F. A. Hein, Mrs. Christ, 
Halverson, Mrs. O. H. Hesla, Mrs. Ira Hansen, Miss Amelia Hansen, 
Mrs. A. J. Johnson, Mrs. J. S. Johnson, Mrs. Bert Johnson, John A. 
Johnson, Mrs. John N. Johnson, David Jones, Mrs. G. W. Johnson, 
Mrs. Andrew Johnson, Mrs. W. E. Landsberg, Mrs. Ida Mickelson, 



692 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Mrs. D. R. Miller, Mrs. Fred Mangold, H. L. Pierce, B. L. Shirk, 
Mrs. B. L Shirk, H. C. Sondberg, Mrs. H. C. Sondberg, Robert 
Kramer, Mrs. A. H. Mickelson, Mrs. Olaf Sewalsen, Olga Sewalsen, 
Mrs. Tenie Bertness, Mrs. William McGrew, Mrs. W. F. Anderson, 
W. J. Rystad, O. A. Peterson, Hannah Morris, A. L. Anderson, Mrs. 
A. L. Anderson, O. L. Anderson, Mrs. O. E. Anderson, Mrs. Alex 
Cuthbert, Mrs. John S. Cleveland, Emma Christensen, Mrs. Wm. 
Clayton, C. J. Christensen, Roy Cleveland, Mrs. Roy Cleveland, Mrs. 
J. E. Davis, Mrs. Maggie Davis, Mrs. O. L. Danielson, O. L. Daniel- 
son. 

MAPLE VALLEY TOWNSHIP 

Victor Nelson, Oscar Peterson, Mrs. Thomas Patten, Mrs. Char- 
lottee Starr, Marie Starr, Eve Star, Amelia Starr, Mrs. C. E. Smith, 
Mrs. E. F. Sanderman, Henry Stille, J. E. L. Schmidt, Mrs. J. E. L. 
Schmidt, Bert Schoelke, Mrs. B. R. Thayer, Frank Eutt, Mrs. Frank 
Eutt, Geo. Eolzin, Gus Turnquist, Mrs. Herbert Wall, Mrs. H. Wen- 
del, Charles Zwemke, W. H. Schmidt, Wm. Younie, Clara Younie, 
Mrs. W. M. Barr, A. C. Beecher, Mrs. A. C. Beecher, Mrs. Wm. 
Beecher, Henry Brisbois, Miss Florence Huseman, Ed. Gustafson, 
Mrs. Fred H. Harjes, Mrs. Charles Holtz, Mrs. Charles Hill, Charles 
Hill, Carl Harris, Mrs. Carl Harris, John Holtz, Mrs. John A. Hol- 
lingsworth, Gus Johannesen, Mrs. Gus Johannesen, Albert Jorgensen, 
Kate Clark, Mrs. Henry Larson, Mrs. Josephine Minard, Alice 
Minard, Herbert G. Wall. 

MARATHON AND POLAND TOWNSHIP 

Mrs. Bertha A. Bisby, Mrs. Nellie Smith, Mrs. Cora A. Smith, 
Mrs. Alfred Gustafson, Gus Erickson, W. J. Miller, F. A. Nichols, 
Mrs. M. C. Starrett, Mrs. E. R. Wells, J. H. Wegerslev, Roy White- 
hill, Mrs. Roy Whitehill. 

NEWELL (town) 

Mrs. Geo. W. Chaney, Mrs. P. Peterson, Mrs. M. A. Armstrong, 
Mrs. J. F. Brown, Mrs. Geo. Bishqp, Mrs. Olive Conley, Mrs. C. A. 
Collins, Jeannette Collins, Mrs. J. D. Cheney, Mrs. Nels Christensen, 
Sophia Christensen, Mrs. H. Peter Christenson, Mrs. Leo E. Couch, 
Mrs. R. T- Clausen, Mrs. W. A. Cameron, Agnes A. Chaney, Jessie 
M. Chaney, Mrs. J. E. Christensen, Mrs. E. O. Clark, Mrs. A, E. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 693 

Couch, Mrs. Charles A. Doty, Mrs. G. L. ElHson, Mrs. S. Eskisen, 
Mrs. Geo. W. Eggilston, Rev. Geo. W. Eggilston, Mrs. J. H. Evans, 
Mrs. C. Frandsen, Mrs. Aug. Faber, Mrs. R. Fredericksen, Dajmar 
Frederickson, Ella Frederickson, Nanna Frederickson, ]\Irs. Geo. L. 
Fredenberg, Mrs. F. B. Fransen, Mrs. E. E. Grave, Mary Hansen, 
Mrs. Chris Holmen, Mrs. J. E. Holtz, Mrs. Wm. Huxtable, Mrs. F. 
O. Holcomb, Mrs. W. L. Holtz, H. A. Harvey, Mrs. H. A. Harvey, 
Mrs. Will Hunter, Mildred Hunter, Mrs. Minnie Harkness, Mrs. F. 
Hanson, Mrs. D. L. Hoeffle, Mrs. Katherine Jensen, Mrs. Nels Jen- 
sen, Mrs. Olaf Jorgensen, Mrs. P. M. Jensen, Mrs. S. W. Kelso, 
Mrs. Earl King, Mrs. Nels Kinnerun, Mrs. Agnes Langdon, E. P. 
Layman, Mrs. W. H. Lawton, Carrie Mikkelson, Mollie Mikkelson, 
Mrs. John Newton, Mrs. C. M. Nelson, Mrs. Walter Olson, Mrs. A. 
Post, Mrs. Louis Peterson, Mrs. F. L. Point, Mrs. Charles Peterson, 
Mrs. Piercy, Mrs. Nels Peterson, L. F. Parker, Mrs. L. F. Parker, 
Mrs. W. D. Rust, Mrs. C. J. Robinson, Mrs. Frank Rodd, Mrs. F. 
G. Redfield, Francis Redfield, Dora Redfield, Mrs. M. Sorenson, Mrs. 
R. J. Thomas, Mrs. C. E. J. Whitesit, Belle Whitesit, Ora Whitesit, 
J. A. Thompson, Mrs. J. A. Ehompson, Mrs. Ella Erukken, Rev. J. 
D. Vinding, Mrs. C. R. Waterman, Mrs. W. A. Waterman. 

NEWELL TOWNSHIP 

Mrs. J. P. Johnson, Mrs. Eric P. Kruse, Anna Kruse, Mrs. Peter 
Kladstrup, Mrs. John Kruse, Golda Kane, Wanda Kane, Mrs. Nels 
Larsen, Mrs. Lee Linsley, Mrs. J. B. Linsley, Mrs. L. P. Lind, Mrs. 
Lee P. Lund, Mindred Lund, Mrs. Grace Marguess, Mrs. W. E. 
Moreland, Mrs. A. Mikkelson, Anna Mikkelson, Mrs. Carl L. Nelsen, 
Mrs. J. P. Olson, Mrs. Peter Peterson, Mrs. L. B. Phillips, Mrs. P. 
M. Pendergast, August Schroder, Mrs. August Schroder, Viola Rod- 
da, Mrs. C. Alltren, Mrs. L P. Olsen, Mrs. Ivan M. Adams, Marinus 
Anderson, Mrs. Wm. E. Barnes, Mrs. J. A. Brown, Mrs. K. C. Bod- 
holt, Mrs. Oman Bjirrett, Mrs. George Boyce, Mrs. William Bahl, 
Mrs. Charles Borran, Ella Christensen, Mrs. Amiel Christensen, Mrs. 
J. A. Dallenbach, Mrs. Archie M. Ellis, Mrs. O. B. Ellis, Mrs. An- 
drew P. Gran, Miss Nellie Herrick, Mrs. Ferdinand Hemmingsen, 
Mrs. M. C. Haines, Mrs. M. A. Conklin, Mrs. Herb Piercy, Mrs. 
Henry Piercy, Mrs. James Rogers, Mrs. Lyle Smith, Mrs. Earl Sny- 
der, Mrs. Paul Snyder, Mary Swenson, Mrs. Anton Thompson, Miss 



694 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Pearl Van Cleave, Genevieve Wilson, Lucille Wilson, Marion Wil- 
son, Emery Wilson, Mrs. Geo. Watterman, Florence Watterman, 
Mrs. J. P. Young, Florence Young. 

NOKOMIS TOWNSHIP 

Peter Strom, Mrs. Peter Strom, Miss Millicent Strom, Mrs. Ed. 
Lemmons, L. C. Anderson, Mrs. L. C. Anderson, Mrs. B. A. Adams, 
Miss Mabel Anderson, Anton Anderson, Mrs. Anton Anderson, Mrs. 
O. W. Anderson, A. L. Anderson, Mrs. Art Adams, Mrs. Ed Brick- 
sen, J. A. Blom, Mrs. J. A. Blom, C. J. Bains, Mrs. C. J. Bains, 
Mrs. S. E. Barnard, Mrs. F. C. Butler, Mrs. John Benson, Mrs. 
Geo. Bovee, Mrs. Fred Breecher, J. C. Bensene, Mrs. J. C. Bensene, 
Miss Norma Brown, Mrs. C. M. Coombs, Mrs. F. W. Corneliussen, 

F. W. Corneliussen, Mrs. Frank Carpenter, C. F. Erickson, Mrs. 
Henry Frederickson, Mrs. Geo. G. Glawe, Mrs. C. G. Gulbranson, 
L. H. Hatch, Mrs. L. H. Hatch, Mrs. Martin Hansen, Christian 
Hansen, Miss Annie Hansen, J. W. Heywood, Lucy Heywood, Mrs. 

G. W. Isaaksen, Mrs. Ross Johnson, Mrs. Helmer Johannesen, Miss 
Bernice Johannesen, Laura Johnson, Mrs. George A. Johnson, L. E. 
Johnson, Amanda Kindwall, Opal Lindberg, Hulda Lindberg, Mrs. 
Gust Lundgren, Mrs. Martin C. Madsen, Mrs. Peter Matson, C. Moff- 
att, Mrs. C. Moffatt, Mrs. Andrew Nelson, Mrs. Herman Nelson, 
Mrs. Carl Oquist, Mrs. D. J. Wessman, Mrs. Geo. Parrott, Mrs. A. 
poulson, A. W. Peterson, Mrs. A. A. Peterson, S. C. Porter, Miss 
Regina Porter, Bert Poulson, R. E. Parker, Mrs. R. E. Parker, Mrs. 
Homer G. Robar, P. J. Swanson, J. B. Stomberg, Mrs. J. B. Stom 
berg, Mrs. Ellen Swanson, C. L. Swanson, Mrs. C. Schott, Albert 
Waldo, Mrs. Frank W. Wilson, Mrs. B. A. Warme. 

PROVIDENCE TOWNSHIP 

Bessie Robins, E. B. Ackerman, Mrs. Clarence A. Bodholdt, Mrs. 
Emil Bodholdt, Mrs. C. S. Boch, Anton Boch, Mrs. W. Barnes, Hans 
C. Bodholdt, Ida Barnes, Mrs. Ed Duffy, Mrs. Wm. Gee, Katherine 
Gee, Mrs. Archie Henry, Mrs. A. B. Heath, Stella Heath, Mrs. Ben 
Hopkins, Mrs. Christian Jensen, Mrs. E. A. Jones, Mrs. Jensen, Mrs. 
John McFadden, Mrs. Thos. Mernin, Mrs. Joe McKenna, Fred C. 
Britton, Carrie Mikkelson, Mrs. J. H. McKenna, Mrs. Matt Nelson, 
Glennie Petty, Ruth Petty, J. N. Reding, Mrs. John Sturchler, Dora 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 695 

Thuesen, Mrs. Anna M. Thuesen, Jennie Thuesen, Edna Thuesen, 
E. P. Wright. 

REMBRANDT 

Mary Kaufman, Gust Peterson, Mrs. H. C. Berger, H. C. Berger. 

SCOTT TOWNSHIP 

Mrs. Carl Swanson, Mrs. Ivan Bodine, R. C. Kramer, Mrs. R. C. 
Kramer, May A. Kramer, P. H. Betz, Mrs. P. H. Betz, Lillie Betz, 
Mrs. Rachel Lokken, O. A. Lokken, Mrs. Ed. Anderson, Augustus 
Brow, Wm. Bice, Mrs. Wm. Bice, Oscar F. Bodine, Mrs. Oscar F. 
Bodine, G. R. Fanning, Mrs. G. R. Fanning, Mrs. J. C. Hanson, Mrs. 
H. C. Lindlief, Agnes McCabe, Mrs. A. Swensen, Lillian Madsen, 
Matilda Madsen, Bodel Madsen, Mrs. Peter A. Nyden, Elsie Nyden, 
Mrs. C. W. Peterson, John M. Rhenstrom, Mamie Rhenstrom, Mrs. 
G. L. Steig. 

SIOUX RAPIDS 

Mrs. A. A. Osmundson, Miss A. Osmundson, Miss Mabel Osmund- 
son, Miss Luella Olson, Mrs. O. P. Olson, Mrs. A. G. Gustafson, 
Mrs. Alfred Olson, Mrs. Vhristian Olson, Mrs. P. F. Parker, Mrs. 
Isaac Remillard, Mrs. Jacob G. Ruff, Mrs. R. Reynolds, Mrs. A. A. 
Richardson, Mrs. O. O. Rosell, Miss Ida Rosell, Mrs. B. E. Sickles, 
Mrs. H. J. Christenson, Mrs. E. H. Shultz, Mrs. Lena Seversen, Mrs. 
Howard Aawyer, Mrs. Clinton Suniniy, Mrs. Jacob Smith, Ruth 
Smith, Isabella Smith, Lydel Smith, James O. Smith, Alice M. Smith, 
John W. Smith, Mrs. A. A. Scott, Mrs. J. K. Salveson, Mrs. G. T. 
Smith, Mrs. P. A. Saxerut, Mrs. A. B. Snyder, Miss J. M. Snyder, 
Mrs. C. P. Sickels, Mrs. N. C. Simonsen, Mrs. A. Steen, Mrs. Anna 
Skelton, Mrs. L. A. Torkelson, Mrs. H. E. Urdahl, Mrs. W. F. 
Wright, Mrs. Emma Wilson, F. D. White, Mrs. F. D. White, Mrs. 
S. R. L. Wright, Mrs. T. H. Whitehead, Rofa Whitehead, Miss Ruth 
Eatin, Mrs. Ford Vaulke, Mrs. Frank Schweitzer, T. W. Murdock, 
Mrs. E. C. Matteson, Miss Marie Matteson, Mrs. Ed. F. McFarland, 
Mrs. Martin Murphy, Mrs. C. J. McDanel, Miss Merna McDanel, 
Mrs. C. E. McFarland, Miss Bessie Martz, Miss Mabel Martz, Mrs. 
Geo. McDowell, Mrs. Lon Wydall, Mrs. S. G. Undstrum, Mrs. F. K. 
Northey, Miss Genevieve Northey, Mrs. Ed J. Norris, Mrs. O. Oberg, 
Miss Adelia Johnson, Miss Julia Johnson, Mrs. James Peppeson, Mrs. 



696 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

L. E. Kleppe, Miss Helsa Kleppe, Miss Hedwig Kleppe, Miss Ellen 
Kleppe, Mrs. E. W. Bowers, Mrs. Oscar Eaton, Miss Ruth Eaton, 
Mrs. Elmer Anchild, H. G. Lickvold, Mrs. C. W. Leighton, James 
Levison, Mrs. N. A. Lundvall, Miss Isabel Lundvall, Mrs. E. Merry, 
Mrs. F. B. Watler, ]\Irs. John Merry, Mrs. A. E. Myers, Mrs. Miles 
Moe, Mrs. F. H. Diercks, Miss Emily Eade, Miss Ernla Graham, 
Miss Coral Graham, Mrs. L. C. Goodman, Mrs. R. E. George, Mrs. 
Elizabeth Hagemen, Miss Florence Hageman, Mrs. H. H. Hall, Mrs. 
U. M. Hamstreet, Miss Grace Buckholz, Mrs. J. P. Hedin, Mrs. Amy 
B. Haskins, Miss Mamine Hoskins, Miss Margaret Hoskins, J. E. 
Holden, Mrs. J. E. Holden, Mrs. F. A. Jackson, Mrs. Niel Johnson, 
Miss May Jackson, Miss Elizabeth Jackson, Mrs. J. C. Johnson, Mrs. 
Andrew Johnson, Mrs. J. H. Aronstedt, Mrs. G. W. Alexander, Mrs. 
Edward Anderson, Mrs. Axel Anderson, Miss Julia Anderson, Mary 
I. Boynton, Mrs. R. R. Burr, Mrs. T. C. Eongman, Mrs. Joseph F. 
Browii, Mrs. F. B. Ballentyne, Mrs. J. F. Clough, Miss Anna Clough, 
Mrs. Anna Clough, Mrs. Annie Clark, Mrs. G. A. Christensen, Mrs. 
Geo. Crick, Mrs. Alex Cook, Mrs. L. D. Christy, Mrs. G. A. Cady, 
Miss Madge Dodge, Miss Arline Dodge, Mrs. E. M. Punoe, Mrs. I. 
P. Davidson, Mrs. Enoch F. Davis. 

STORM LAKE 

Mrs. W. F. Adams, Mrs. B. K. Abbott, Mrs. Wm. Aitken, Agnes 
Aitken, Mrs. V. J. Anderson, Mrs. Fred Biggins, Mrs. A. E. Bran- 
son, A. D. Bailie, Mrs. J. S. Bell, Mrs. H. E. Barrick, Mrs. J. I. 
Bullard, Elsie Battern, Ana Grace Buland, Leila Buland, Mrs. L. E. 
Ballou, Jr., John R. Bell, Mrs. John R. Bell, Robert Bleakly, Mrs. 
Robert Bleakkly, Robert Bleakly, Mrs. Martha Busby, Matie Mailie, 
Mrs. Amos A. Bouchy, Marie Bouchy, Mrs. J. F. Brown, Mrs. E. D. 
Bangheart, Mrs. Culbertson, T. H. Chapman, Mrs. E. H. Chapman, 
Mrs. E. M. Clapp, Mrs. Elmer Cobb, Mrs. Ellen Condon, Mrs. C. C. 
Colwell, Mrs. JNIathew Connor, Mathew Connor, Ileen S. Louise 
Connor, Mrs. George Currier, Mrs. Roy Davidson, Mrs. H. S. Darr, 
Mrs. Dlugosch, Mrs. A. Dlugosch, Mrs. Edward Dahl, Mrs. F. V. 
Dumbaugh, Mrs. L. S. Dlugosch, Mrs. Nellie M. Deal Miss Elsie 
Planalp, W. C. Edson, T. D. Filers, Mrs. E. D. Filers, Mrs. Gred H. 
Ensign, Mrs. B. B. Fiscus, Mrs. F. P. Foster, F. P. Foster, Mrs. G. 
H. Fracker, Anne Fracker, Mrs. Harley Adams, Mrs. R. Gaffin, W. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 697 

L. Giesinger, Mrs. W. L. Giesinger, Mrs. R. J. Geisinger, Mrs. John 
Glowczewsky, Mrs. A. G. Gilmore, Mildred Gilmore, Donald M. 
Grant, Mrs. Chas. Gajffin, Mrs. M. D. Grimes, Julia Hayes, H. J. 
Hahne, Mrs. Aug. G. Hoch, Mrs. J. Haywood, Mrs. A. E. Howard, 
Mrs. T. H. Harden, Mrs. M. J. Hughes, Mrs. Ben HoUenbeck, Mrs. 
G. W. Harner, Verlin Harper, Shirley Harper, Mrs. Joe Hopkins, 
Mrs. John Jenkins, C. C. Jackson, Mrs. W. A. Jones, Mrs. Clifford 
J. Johnson, Mrs. A. W. Kaufman, Mrs. Roy Kinne, IN'Irs. Lillie Kes- 
ler, Mrs. Wm. Kurtenback, Mrs. Florence Kerslake, Mrs. James Po- 
land, Mrs. Fred Bruhn, Miss Nell Kerslake, Mrs. Clarence Keester, 
Mrs. Colin Lovesee, Colin Lovesee, Mrs. C. W. Liercke, C. W. 
Liercke, Mrs. W. H. Manchester, Grace E. Mack, Mrs. Frank Mack, 
Mrs. D. H. Miller, Mrs. M. J. Miles, Mrs. Geo. Blakely, Gladys Blake- 
ly, Mrs. Margaret Miller, Mrs. A. F. Morse, Mrs. C. T. Millard, 
Mrs. J. L. Munson, Mrs. Ernest Melcher, Mrs. Kittie Miller, Mrs. 

A. Stanton, Mrs. Wm. Miller, R. E. McKenna, Mrs. Grace Marshall, 
Mrs. L. J. Metcalf, C. H. J. Mitchell, Mrs. C. H. J. Mitchell, Mrs. 
Geo. C. Mack, Mrs. John McPherson, Mrs. Frank Martine, Mrs. B. 

B. Morris, Mrs. Ray North, Mrs. Wm. North, Mrs. Frank Newell, 
Mrs. James Newell, Mrs. J. H. O'Donohue, Mrs. E. W. Gates, E. W. 
Gates, Mrs. Anna Olson, Mrs. J. S. Peterson, Pearl A. Pewsey, Mrs. 
W. E. Post, Mrs. G. T. Putnam, Mary Putnam, Mrs. R. C. Point, 
R. C. Point, S. Quay, Mrs. D. E. Quinn, Mrs. Claud Roberts, Mrs. 
M. Renshaw, Mrs. Ed Richardson, Mrs. Wm. Rosenbrook, Mrs. 
Eliza Keith, Ruth Keith, Mrs. R. W. Roberts, Mrs. Elizabeth Rae, 
Mrs. Wm. T. Roub, Mrs. H. E. Roberts, OHve Shreve, Mrs. E. F. 
Smith, Mrs. W. C. Skifif, Mrs. Lester Stone, Mrs. E. G. Scof^eld, Mrs. 
Barbara Schmitz, Mrs. Stephen Satchell, Mrs. Wm. Streblow, Mrs. 
John W. Saathofif, Mrs. Herman Stefifen, Mrs. W. G. Stock, Geo. J. 
Schaller, J. A. Schmitz, Mrs. J. A. Schmitz, Mrs. J. W. Souther, 
Zoe Souther, Mrs. A. C. Smith, Mrs. L. B. Sharp, Mrs. Ernest W. 
Stanley, Mrs. Grace Stevens, Mrs. Eliza Turner, P. C. Eoy, Mrs. P. 
J. Toohey, Mrs. A. F. Eymeson, Mrs. E. R. Eurner, Mrs. Esther 
Ehomas, Elizabeth Ehompson, Mrs. J. W. Van Bibber, A. T. Eoeger, 
Mrs. A. E. Eoeger, Mrs. W. D. Van De Mark, Mrs. L. H. Weisen- 
berger, Mrs. Wm. Wilson, Mrs. C. R. Womack, Eva Womack, Mrs. 
J. P. Wahlstrom, Mrs. Eva Wilkins, A. L. Whitney, Mrs. A. L. 
Whitney, Mrs. L. E. Yerington, Mrs. Fred Steig, Mrs. A. M. Mor- 



698 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

rison, Mrs. Thos. Park, Mrs. G. E. Whealen, Mrs. F. L. Hughes, S. 
R. Satchell, Ltiella Burns, Hughena Burns, Alta Mae Burns, Mrs. H. 
Mrs. H. Junkmeir, Mrs. S. C. Snyder, Mrs. O. B. Kelly, Mrs. Will 
Mittelstadt, Mrs. Ralph Diehl, Mrs. J. H. Hoffman, Mrs. Chas. Chap- 
man, Mrs. J. H. Haughey, Mrs. Wilbur Kaufman, Mrs. J. Morten- 
son, Mrs. John W. Gibson, Mrs. Chas. Peterson, Mrs. Mary Neu- 
baur, Mrs. D. A. Rice, Betty Rice, Mrs. Fred Schar, Mrs. Frank 
Butler, Mrs. G. H. Carlson, Mrs. Matilda Soeth, Mamie Soeth, Marie 
Doxsee, Mrs. W. A. Abernathy, Mrs. Frank Mittelstadt, Mrs. Marie 
Meyer, Mrs. W. J. Geisinger, Mrs. Everett Hughes, Mrs. U. G. 
Burton, Mrs. Paul Blair, Mrs. S. E. Hesla, Mrs. H. E. Swope, Lurene 
Swope, Mrs. Mary Harker, May Harker, Mrs. J. J. Metcalf, Mrs. 
J. H. La Grange, Zoe La Grange, Mrs. Mary L Jones, Mrs. Effie 
Nusbaum, Mrs. David Gilmer, Mrs. J. J. Taylor, Mrs. A. E. Morse, 
Mrs. T. E. Carney, Mrs. Fred Schaller, Mrs. J. W. Planalp, C. H. 
McDiarmid, Mrs. C. H. McDiarmid, Mrs. C. H. Bauman, Mary E. 
Ensign, Evelyn Ensign, Mrs. C. A. Fulton, Mrs. R. J. Geisinger, 
Agnes Aitken, Esther Aitken, Ruth Aitken, Annie Aitken, Mrs Ait- 
ken, Mrs. J. L. Clapp, Mrs. H. L. Hughes, Alice Hughes, Kathryn 
Hughes, Mrs. S. E. Farnsworth, Mrs. C. F. Wellmerling, Mrs. J. E. 
Buland, Mrs. S. S. Graeber, Mrs. C. Richardson, Mrs. Henry Steig, 
Mrs. W. D. Foster, Jessie McGill, Mrs. L. B. Florey, L. B. Florey, 
Lillian McFadden, Bell McFadden, Mrs. M. Saathoff, Gertrude 
Saathoff, Mrs. E. B. Benedict, Mrs. L. S. Todd, Mrs. C. W. Samuels, 
Mrs. Ed Culver, Marion Johnson, Mrs. Henry Peters, Mrs. Randall 
Lindlief, Mrs. C. J. Iverson, Mrs. J. Park Blair, Mrs. Jos. Nattress, 
Mrs. Art La May, Mrs. Clarence Samsel, Mrs. Luvy B. Bowers, 
Mrs. Jeanne C. Webb, Vivian Lewis, Helen Lewis, Mrs. R. W. Ford, 
Mrs. C. D. Grieg, Mrs. W. F. Park, Mrs. E. L. O'Banion, Mrs. H. 
A. Conrad, Mrs. L. C. Doan, Mrs. M. F. Fischer, Mrs. Marie Fisher, 
Mrs. James S. Bell, Mrs. Walter Throckmorton, Mrs. Chas. Newell, 
Mary Newell, Winifred Newell, Annie Newell, Edith Newell, Mrs. 
Chas. Richardson, Mrs. M. Hardyman, Margaret Hardyman, W. R. 
Faust, Raymond Faust, Lester Faust, Mrs. W. R. Faust, J. T. Edson, 
Mrs. Burt Hughes, Miss Bessie Hughes, J. L. Munson, Eda Wilkins. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 699 

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP 

Mrs. Roy E. Brown, Mrs. G. W. Arnold, Mrs. W. E. Bushman, 
Mrs. Richard Barnes, J. O. Blake, Mrs. H. R. Boettcher, Mrs. Fred 
Burnes, Mrs. Ray L. Cone, Mrs. Henry L. Delbridge, Mrs. E. L. 
Davidson, Miss Prudence Davidson, Walter L. Ernest, Mrs. Walter 
L. Ernest, Mrs. M. T. Fletcherm, Joseph Gutel, Sarah J. Holcomb, 
Mrs. H. H. Holmes, Mary Huber, Mrs. J. W. Horlocker, Mary A. Le- 
doux, H. H. Lang, Clara B. Mark, Frank J. Meyer, Mrs. Frank J. 
Meyer, Jerome, A. McBride, Mrs. Tom O'Neill, Mrs. Henry L. 
Steig, Mrs. Wm. Scrambler, Mrs. Fred H. Steig, Mrs. Bertha Stull, 
Henry Steinhelber, Mrs. Pearl Steinhelber, Mrs. Augusta Potter 
Sprague, Robert Smith, Mrs. W. H. Turner, Joe Ullom, Mrs. Joe 
Ullom, Mrs. Ed. C. Vogel, Mrs. C. E. Willcutt. 

Juniors in Red Cross Work 

The enthusiasm and deep interest of young hearts was injected 
into America's participation in Red Cross work by the organization 
of a junior body, which was mainly effected through the educational 
personnel of the county. County Superintendent A. E. Harrison 
served as chairman of the committee, with Stella M. Russell, Super- 
intendent C. E. Akers, Mrs. C. E. Akers, and Miss Mary Toohey as- 
sisting. 

Most effective work was done by the chapter school committee, as 
the results which we are proud to chronicle, will show. Every school 
in the county enrolled in the Junior Red Cross, each pupil paying his 
or her own membership fees in full without assistance. Buena Vista 
was the first county to send in its record of complete Junior Red 
Cross organization, and the only county, so far as we have been able 
to learn, that was absolutely 100 per cent in organization and 100 
per cent in its record of finished articles made by the pupils, as re- 
ported from headquarters at Des Moines after due inspection of the 
work. 

A campaign for renewal of memberships in the Junior Red Cross 
was taken up beginning December 15, 1918, and ending January 15, 
1919. In a good many schools funds were again raised to the amount 
of twenty-five cents for each pupil, while in other schools a pledge 
of service was given and at the close of the campaign all schools had 
renewed their membership in the organization. The amount of mon- 



700 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

ey raised was not as large as for the drive the 3^ear preceding. The 
total amount of cash reported to the chapter school committee was 
$151.52. A portion of this money, in addition to what was left over 
from last year, has been spent for putting the Red Cross Magazine 
into the schools, and for other patriotic inaterial and supplies that 
are of great value. 

Sixty-seven schools, with a membership of 3,767 pupils, raised 
$1,107.85 in membership fees, with an additional amount of $205.20. 
Work done by the various Junior branches is shown by the follow- 
ing figures: 

Storm Lake public schools: 18 wash cloths, 18 flannel brassieres, 
II muslin brassieres, 6 outing dresses, 6 capes with hoods, i cape 
without hood, 7 girls' dresses, 8 bags, 24 chemises, 16 pinafores, 34 
pairs of bootees, 18 pairs of leggings, 185 towels, 58 strings of gun 
wipes, 56 comfort pillows. 

Girls under direction of Mrs. Arthur Edson: iqo diapers, 7 pairs 
of bootees, 16 layette bags, i baby dress, 14 crib blankets, 50 layette 
bags packed, i large comfort, i scrap book, 60 binders rolled, 40 rolls 
linen, 5 afghans for Camp Dodge hospital, i comfort top, 17 glasses 
of jam, 3 comforts sold, with kitchen holders, conservation cake re- 
ceipts and popcorn to the value of $43, 16 Christmas boxes, 2 large 
silk quilts, started bank account, collected rags and cut handkerchiefs. 
Truesdale public schools: i complete baby's outfit, 2 chemises, 4 
pinafores. 

Hayes consolidated schools: 5 chemises, 10 towels, i afghan, 10 
hospital towels, 2 comfort pillows. 

Highview consolidated: 2 bed socks, 5 sheets, 10 hospital bags, 
2 comfort pillows. 

Albert City schools: 4 chemises, 24 hospital bags, 4 layettes, 12 
scrap books, 8 ambulance pillows, 1200 gun wipes. 

Rembrandt consolidated: 7 sateen pinafores, 24 scrap books, 20 
knitted wash cloths. 

Lincoln-Lee consolidated: 4 chemises, i knitted afghan, 2 pina- 
fores, several towels. 

Marathon public schools: 300 gun wipes, t,/ pairs of wristlets, 
1 1 helmets, 9 pairs of socks, i hood, 4 capes, 3 sleeve boards, 2 broom 
holders, 3 bracket shelves, 237 quilt blocks, 42 scarfs, 56 sweaters. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 701 

7 wash cloths, i quilt, 4 pinafores, 2 book racks i shoe box, 2 meat 
boards. 

Providence consolidated: This school did some splendid work, 
but because the superintendent went into the service before the close 
of school, no complete record of the work was turned in. 

Linn Grove public schools : This school did some good work, but 
no report was turned in to the chapter school committee. 

Fairview consolidated: This school did some good work, but the 
pupils worked with the seniors, and no separate report was turned in 
to the chapter school committee. 

Newell consolidated: 140 9x9 compresses, 125 4x4 compresses, 
208 z-i^i compresses, 335 8x8 compresses, 19 five-yard rolls, 6 split 
irrigation pads, 10 aprons, 6 petticoats, 4 chemises, 5 capes with 
hoods, 30 dresses, i night gown, 28 pairs of knitting needles at 35c, 
22 dresses, 26 shirts, 5 quilts, 15 capes, i apron, 2 sweaters, 23 hoods, 
21 pairs bootees, 24 jackets, 1300 gun wipes, i knitted quilt. 

Sioux Rapids public schools: 100 gardens started, 32 petticoats, 
24 petticoats partly complete, 5 bonnets, 4 pinafores, 4 capes with 
hoods, 12 wash clotths, 3 afghans, 3,000 gun wipes, 100 shot bags, 
snippings. 

Alta consolidated: no wash cloths, 6 comfort pillows, 4 strings, 
gun wipes, 4 chemises, 4 capes with hoods, 150 afghan squares, i 
large afghan, 2 complete layettes, 2 bonnets, 8 jackets, 22 diapers, 
26 pairs bootees, 20 flannel shirts, 17 infant dresses, 225 9x9 com- 
presses, 175 8x4 compresses, 9 hospital shirts, 225 4x4 compresses, 
50 2x2 sponge wipes. 

Rural schools of Newell Township: 8 quilts, 6 bags, 4 towels, 
120 5x5 squares, 90 trench candles, 106 gun wipes, 4 baby dresses, 
3 slips, 2 dresses for child, i pair baby bootees, 8 pairs bootees. 

Lutheran school, Grant Township: 2 dozen khaki handkerchiefs. 

Elk No. 5 : Ellen Hanson, teacher — 2 knitted wash cloths, 5 af- 
ghan squares. 

Grant No. 4: Olivia Anderson, teacher — 12 towels. 

Pickerel Lake: Mabel Wassom, teacher — 11 towels, 4 hot water 
bag covers. 

Coon No. I : Marie Ehlers, teacher — i complete baby layette. 

Fairfield No. "i : Doris Hawk, teacher — i knitted quilt. 

Fairfield No. 2: Mabel Anderson, teacher — 14 towels. 



702 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Fairfield No. 3 : Agnes Nelson, teacher — 50 gun wipes, 23 towels. 

Fairfield No. 4: Lottie Sweet, teacher — 5 scrap books, 2 quilts. 

Fairfield No. 6: Alice Larson, teacher — 16 towels, 14 bunches 
gun wipes. 

Fairfield No. 7 : Audrey Sturchler, teacher — i quilt, 2 wash 
cloths. 

Lincoln No. 7: Media Blomgren, teacher — 100 gun wipes, 6 
towels, 2 quilts. 

Fairfield No. 9 : Florence Carlson, teacher — 200 gun wipes. 

Coon No. i: Bertha Doxsee, teacher — 12 pairs baby bootees, 
12 handkerchief substitutes, 4 hospital shirts, 11 pairs leggings, 7 
towels, 2 quilts, 6 hot water bag covers. 

Coon No. 2: Carrie Bloem, teacher — i pair bootees, 16 gun 
wipes. 

Coon No. 5 : Nellie Strauss, teacher — 616 gun wipes, 3 hot water 
bag covers, 16 trench candles. 

J. U. G. Club 

A group of fifteen little girls rendered a service of splendid spirit. 
These little maids, banded together as the J. U. G. (Just Us Girls) 
Club, seeking an opportunity to do something useful, approached Mrs. 
Arthur Edson to direct their efforts when they learned that she was 
the lady who had charge of the making of layettes for Belgian babies. 
She first assigned them to the duty of hemming napkins, which they 
did so well that they were soon given the making of bootees, crochet- 
ing, the making of layette bags, running the tape in jackets and hoods, 
rolling binders, and many other little things. They also assembled 
the material and made fourteen crib quilts. In April the Des Moines 
Capital asked for donations of jelly for the hospital at Camp Dodge, 
and the club sent a box of twenty glasses. This exhibition of willing- 
ness to do for the soldiers brought a request from a Des Moines lady 
for knitted afghans for invaHds at Fort Des Moines. Thereupon the 
girls knitted two for Camp Dodge, two for the base hospital at Fort 
Des Moines, and were asked for others, to be used by convalescents 
who go about in wheeled chairs. 

The little girls have many friends who have helped them in every 
way possible, so have had much material ; but it has been necessary to 
buy considerable yarn and other materials. In order to meet this ex- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 703 

pense the girls pieced and sold one comfort top for $3, one woolen 
comfort for $6.50, another for $5, and two silk quilts which sold for 
good figures. 

They also sold "Conservation cake" recipes which netted about $20, 
pop corn for $2, and made and sold kitchen holders for $7.50, all of 
which was placed in and disbursed through the bank. With the re- 
turns of this fund they filled sixteen Christmas boxes for the returned 
wounded soldiers at the base hospital at Fort Des Moines, and bought 
linings and cotton for comforts and yarn for afghans. Even after this 
was accomplished money was left over which was spent for providing 
comforts for boys in hospitals. At the time of the "flu" epidemic the 
club collected rags and cut them into squares for the local Red Cross 
hospital. The girls hemmed twenty-five handkerchiefs for the Red 
Cross and collected forty used phonograph records for base hospitals. 

Club membership is limited to fifteen girls, all of ages between nine 
and twelve years, and they met every Thursday afternoon after 
school. They continued their work of providing comforts for wounded 
men long after the signing of the armistice. 

"Thank you" letters for Christmas boxes came from men between 
nineteen and twenty years of age, who had lost either arms or legs, 
with the exception of one, who was suffering with an efifection of the 
spine. 

Two members of the club, Margaret Van Wagenen and Virginia 
Mack, were ill with the influenza when the picture which appears 
in this book was taken. Soon after the photograph was made Eileen 
Connor resigned to become a member of a club of older girls, and 
her membership in the J. U. G. Club was taken by Mary Putnam. 

The J. F. F. Club 

Another group of girls who contributed to this work was the J. 
F. F. Club, whose name suggested the spirit of their work. J. F. F. 
stands for "Just For Fun." This group was organized May 8th at 
the home of Helen Banghart. The object of the club was to do 
Junior Red Cross work, study a Red Cross lesson from the Red Cross 
magazine, and have a short social meeting each time. 

The members voted Helen Banghart as president, Mary Putnam 
as vice president, Gertrude Beatty as secretary, and Pauline Whitney 
as treasurer. Mrs. E. D. Banghart served as patroness of the club. 



704 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Meetings were held every Friday afternoon during the entire sum- 
mer, and hght refreshments were served at the close of each afternoon. 

The club prepared and gave three songs at a community sing. The 
members made fifty-four comfort cushions, which were sent to the 
hospitals; two dozen knitted squares for comfort quilts, unravelled 
contributions of knitted garments to secure the yarn for other uses, 
and helped make layettes for Belgian relief work. The sum of $4.50 
was earned and turned into the Junior Red Cross treasury. 

The membership consisted of Helen Banghart, Gertrude Beatty, 
Ruth Johnson, Esther Millard. Ella Manchester, Helen Mittelstadt, 
Erma Mittlestadt, Charlotte Schultz, Phyllis McGill, Joyce Kaufman, 
Virginia Morey, Louise Parkhill, Mary Putnam, Geneva Roberts, 
Elizabeth Skewis, Pauline Whitney, Ruth Angier, Opal Oglesby, 
Maurine McClure, Evelyn Carlson, and Alberta Bell. 

Financing the Great War 

American emerges from the war a creditor nation. In other words, 
the financial balance for the first time in history is all in her favor. 

When America entered the war she automatically assumed respon- 
sibility as the world's banker. To meet and discharge that respon- 
sibility she has built up a vast and smooth running financial machine 
that is now without equal. The hugeness of the sums involved made 
the building of such a machine absolutely necessary. 

One authority estimates that the aggregate monetary cash of the 
war to the Allies was $152,000,000,000,000. 

The United States' share was approximately $20,000,000,000. 
The bills of the other six active Allies were: Great Britain, $52,- 
000,000,000 ; France, $32,000,000 000 ; Russia, $30,000,000,000 ; Italy, 
$12,000,000,000; Roumania, $3,000,000,000; Serbia, $3,000,000,000. 

The meeting of these costs necessitated going deeply into debt ; they 
were forced to borrow during the war in the neighborhood of $96,- 
000,000,000. This indebtedness, added to the pre-war obligations, 
means a combined debt of approximately $115,000,000,000. 

* 

DEBT FAR BELOW WEALTH 

These figures seem stupendous at first glance, but in comparison 
to the estimated national wealth and annual income of each they are 
really small. The almost staggering total of American war debt is 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 705 

to be seen in proper proportion if compared with obligations follow- 
ing the Civil War. As compared to population and resources the 
latter was far greater. A conservative estimate of the wealth and 
yearly income of the four nations active at the close of the war, to- 
gether with their debt, is appended: 

Wealth Debt Income 

United States ...$300,000,000,000 $23,632,821,219 $50,000,000,000 

Great Britain . . . 86,000,000,000 30,000,000,000 12,500,000,000 

France 62,000,000,000 26,000,000,000 8,000,000,000 

Italy 16,000,000,000 10,000,000,000 3,000,000,000 

The United States debt on June i, 1919, as shown above, includes 
$1,208,000,000 of pre-war debt. 

America's loans to the allies 

It is well to remember, however, that of this amount $7,912,976,000 
represents credits and loans advanced to our allies and some small 
states inactively opposed to Germany. Of this sum $100,000,000 was 
advanced to Italy and $80,000,000 to France after the armistice had 
been signed. The total advance to each individual nation follows: 
Great Britain, $3,745,000,000; France $2,445,000,000; Italy, $1,160,- 
000,000; Russia, $325,000,000; Belgium, $193,520,000; Greece, $15,- 
790,000; Cuba, $15,000,000; Serbia, $12,000,000; Roumania, $6,666,- 
666; and Liberia, $5,000,000. 

American raised a considerable part of the war cost through taxa- 
tion, the revenue receipts in the fiscal year 1917-1918 amounting to 
$3,694,703,000. Of this, $2,839,083,000 represented war excess prof- 
its and income taxes paid in June, forms of levy entirely new to 
America. 

LIBERTY bonds AND WAR SAVINGS STAMPS 

There were other new measures besides the unusual method of tax- 
ation adopted by the United States in meeting her war cost. Liberty 
bonds, with the methods of sales, war savings stamps, and certificates 
of indebtedness were new to our country. 

The sale of $21,430,126,350 in bonds was no small task. The of- 
ferings were spread over nearly two years of time, June 15, 191 7, to 
May 20, 1 919, but in the same period all the world was bidding ex- 
orbitant rates for money. To restrain competition in the capital mar- 



7o6 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

ket the government supervised all security offerings and barred those 
which were not absolutely necessary. So successful was this measure 
that corporate and municipal financing fell off perceptibly, with the 
result that the fourth liberty loan — the largest piece of financing 
ever attempted — was over-subscribed by nearly fifteen per cent. The 
following table shows the dates, the quota, subscription, and the amount 
issued in the different loans: 

Quota Subscribed Issued 

I St — June 15, 1917 . . .$2,000,000,000 $3,035,226,850 $1,989,455,550 

2d — Nov. 15, 1917 . . . 3,000,000,000 4,617,522,300 3,807,864,200 

3d — May 9,1918 3,000,000,000 4,176,516,850 4,175,148,150 

4th — Oct. 24, 1918. . . . 6,000,000,000 6,992,927,100 6,957,658,450 

5th — May 20, 1919 . . 4,500,000,000 5,249,908,300 4,500,000,000 

Total 18,500,000,000 24,072,101,400 21,430,126,350 

The first loan found Buena Vista County quite unprepared. A 
chairman had been appointed for the county, but no definite plan had 
been worked out for the sale of the bonds. The U. C. T. members 
and quite a number of others volunteered their services as salesmen. 
They solicited principally in the towns of the county. The rest was 
left largely to volunteer purchase through the banks. This was the 
only loan in which Buena Vista County failed to make its quota, but 
she made up for it on the other issues as shown by the county detail 
chart. 

Tlic liberty loan organization for the second issue was in some- 
what better shape to handle the sales. The county chairman had ap- 
pointed chairmen for each town and township. They, with volunteer 
salesmen and the banks, succeeded in selling more than the amount 
allotted for the county. This was made possible by some of these 
workers putting in a full month's time at the work. 

In order to better spread the work of selling the next issues of 
government loans, as well as getting a better distribution of the bonds, 
the county chairman had all the banks in the county make up lists of 
all the subscribers of the first and second loans, showing their place 
of residence and the amounts subscribed. These lists and amounts 
were compared with the population and assessed value of the differ- 
ent towns and townships at a meeting of the liberty loan workers 
from over the county. The comparison at this meeting showed the 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 707 

necessity for a better organization, as there was a total of only 415 
subscribers to the first loan and 2,000 in the second. In the first loan 
there were eleven precincts with less than ten subscribers. 

It was concensus of opinion among the workers that a better plan 
of organization should be worked out at the next meeting of the 
workers to be held after the meeting of loan workers of the Federal 
Reserve District at Chicago in advance of the third liberty loan. At 
this next meeting the men who attended the Chicago meeting report- 
ed back the War Service League plan as the ideal organization to 
simplify the work and to get all of the citizens of this county to take 
their fair share of each liberty loan. The operations and methods 
of this War Service League are told in another chapter. 

COUNTY COMMENDED 

Writing on behalf of the Treasury Department, from the offices of 
the war loan organization of the Federal Reserve District in Chicago, 
under date of May 26, 1919, C. H. Schweppe says: 

Before the organization disbands, I write to congratulate Buena 
Vista County on the splendid showing in the recent Victor Liberty 
Loan campaign. It went "over the top" in fine shape. 

LIBERTY LOAN ROSTER^ 

Fairfield Township and Albert City — August Junkermier, Henry 
Hadenfelt, John Patten, M. C. Reuland, A. E. Sweet, Aug. Siekman, 
A. L. Shaffer, W. L. Wehlmerling, John Atkins, W. F. Burkler, 
Charles G. Blomgren, T. E. De Spain. 

Alta — Thomas Scambler, Jesse Wilkinson, John B. Walker, W. 
W. Ullom, W. C. Rowlands, Roy H. Wilkinson, C. D. Peterson, 
Samuel Parker, Henry J. Poulson, Lars Larson, M. J. Lundahl, P. 
Morrissey, D. E. Hadden, H. J. Hofifeins, Ned E. Dahl, Frank Fried- 
lund, J. H. Allen, G. A. Benson, David H. Carpenter. 

Brooke Township — A. B. Colman, H. C. Erickson, Frens Hansen, 
Frank Lindlief, Fred Flagman, L. D. Schultz, C. L. Haight, Walter 
Christensen, W. T. Spurlock, Nels Chilgren, Lee Pennington, George 
Gafifey. 

1 Wc have tried to give as many names of people wlio have assisted with Liberty Loan 
work as possible. We presented questionnaires to all families in the county and secured in- 
formation from the families in the county as to the work that each worker had done in the 
various activities. The names given were secured from the questionnaires which were re- 
turned to us. 



7o8 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 






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HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 709 

Coon Township — Henry F. Ahmholtz, O. F. Bellows, A. Engler, 
Fred W. Griffel, Jr., H. W. Lehmkuhl, William Minden, Carl Niel- 
son, C. F. Porath, W. O. Sievers, Henry D. Thieman, Ross Wilson, 
H. Wendrup, L. F. Webber. 

Elk Township — A. W. Buckingham, L. C. Kramer, Henry W. 
Haase, C. N. Christensen, John R. Pierson, C. M. Hansen, J. P. An- 
derson, J. A. Buckingham, George N. Booth, Claus Johnson, A. C. 
Johnson, Carl Johnson, Jens Miller, C. G. Olson, J. R. Pierson, A. W. 
Peterson, Ed. Rehnstrom, Carl Watson. 

Grant Township — Rev. F. Albrecht, W. L. Danforth, Fred Hig- 
gins, J. M. Hussey, Herman Melhop, Ed. C. Spooner, W. H. Sievers, 
P. A. Soeth, N. M. Hoffman. 

Hayes Township — Frank Eckhardt, Ross Fultz, Job Francis, 
Robert Gring, J. S. Haines, Frank F. Johnson, A. O. Meinhard, Wil- 
liam Pike, J. H. Ross, Ira Canon, T. M. Renshaw, Paul C. Eroeger, 
H. E. Ehayer, Ed. J. Zinn. 

Lee Township — George Brown, Oliver Byam, Sam A. Bennett, 
Milton Evans, Louis Hadenfeldt, J. Oliver Landsness, Eve Thomas, 

B. J. Eorkelson, A. B. Torkelson, E. P. Williams, A. L. Wilson. 
Lincoln Township — John Atkins, W. F. Burkler, Chas. Blomgren, 

T. E. DeSpain, Henry Hadenfelt, August C. Junkermeier, John Pat- 
ten, M. O. Reuland, K. E. Sweet, Aug. Siekman, A. I. Shaffer, W. 
L. Welmerling. 

Linn Grove and Barnes Township — A. H. Mickelson, Eennis 
Bertness, William McGrew, C. O. Friedlund, W. J. Rystad, O. W. 
Peterson, W. F. Anderson, P. A. Barstad, John S. Cleveland, C. J. 
Christensen, Otto Dokken, John T. Evans, C. A. Fulton, E. E. Fried- 
lund, H. Haroldson, O. H. Hesla, A. J. Johnson, Fred Mangold, N. 
P. Nelson. 

Maple Valley Township — H. D. Hinkeldey, W. H. Schmidt, L. S. 
Plog, Wm. Younie, Wm. Breecher, W. E. Driscoll, Charles Holtz, 
Carl Harris, John A. Hollingsworth, Ernest Neumann, Oscar Peter- 
son, Bert Schuelke, George Tolzin," Gus Eurnquist, Rev. Henry Weh- 
king, H. Wendel, Charles Zwemke, William Frederick. 

Newell (Town)— M. J. Ehuesen, Geo. W. Chaney, Mrs. M. A. 
Armstrong, J. E. Brown, R. Frederickson, Geo. L. Fredenberg, F. O. 
Holcomb, W. L. Holtz, E. P. Layman, L. T. Parker, F. G. Redfield, 

C. O. E. Trukken, Rev. J. D. Vinding, C. R. Waterman. 



7IO HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Newell Township — H. A. Robbins, Geo. W. Schultz, R. H. Santer, 
Anton Thompsen, Henry Nitzke, John Wart, E. P. Kruse, Mert 
Rodda, Ivan M. Adams, J. A. Dallenbach, O. B. Ellis, Andrew P. 
Gran, M. C. Haines, Ferdinand Hemmingsen, T. F. Householder, J. 
P. Johnson, Eric P. Kruse, John Lenahan, L. P. Liml, Lars Larsen, 
Lee P. Lund, Warren J. Newton, M. J. O'Connor. 

Nokomis Township — Peter Strom, A. L. Anderson, J. A. Blom, 
Fred H. Breecher, F. W. Cone, D. C. Holmes, Christian Hansen, 
Geo. A. Johnson, Geo. H. Larson, Chas. McCurdy, Martin Madsen, 
Peter Matson, P. R. Moser, Andrew D. Newlson, Geo. J. Parrott, 
A. W. Peterson, A. A. Peterson, S. C. Porter, R. E. Parker, P. J. 
Swanson, J. B. Stomberg, C. Schott, Albert Waldo, B. A. Warme. 

Marathon and Poland Township — Wilfred Gary, Sanford Lund- 
gren, W. J. Miller, E. R. Peters, Lee Ruebel, M. C. Starrett, Charles 
Thomas, Z. W. Ereman, E. B. Wells, J. H. Wegerslev, R. B. Wetzell, 
Roy M. Whitehead. 

Providence Township — E. B. Ackerman, Emil Bodholdt, James 
Jensen, John H. McKenna, J. N. Reding, John Toohey, E. P. Wright, 
Fred C. Britten. 

Rembrandt — H. C. Berger, O. J. Hegna, Forrest W. Hickman, 
W. O. McGrew, Conrad J. Peterson, H. D. Kaufman. 

Sioux Rapids — William H. Clark, E. M. Puroe, F. H. Diercks, 
F. W. Fairchild, J. E. Holden, James Lewison, T. W. Murdock, A. B. 
Snyder, C. L. Sipe, E. E. Smith, William J. Sutton, Howard Sawyer, 
Jacob A. Smith. 

Scott Township — R. C. Kramer, P. H. Betz, A. O. Lokken, Oliver 
Brandvold, Wm. Bice, Oscar F. Bodine, G. R. Fanning, H. C. Lind- 
lief, J. C. Larsen, Guy McGibben, C. N. Matson, Jake Spears. 

Storm Lake — A. E. Brunson, Ona Grace Buland, L. E. Ballou, 
Jr., John R. Bell, Robert Blakely, Frank Barr, T. H. Chapman, 
George Currier, Ed Dahl, T. V. Dumbaugh, Tom D. Filers, B. B. 
Fiscus, W. L. Geisinger, Donald M. Grant, M. Hayes, Ben Hollen- 
beck, C. C. Jackson, Ray Jones, J. W. Salter, David F. Shannon, P. 
C. Toy, P. H. Eoohey, Mrs. E. R. Eurner, Eorrence Ehomas, A. E. 
Troeger, L. H. Weisenberger, Ralph Witter, A. L. Whitney, Fred 
Steig, Thos. Parks, Ralph Diehl, John W. Gibson, Frank F. Mittel- 
stadt, Guy E. Mack, Ernest Melcher, Wm. Miller, Chas. H. J. Mit- 
chell, George C. Mack, E. W. Oates, R. C. Point, D. E. Quinn, E. G. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 711 

Scofield, Walter S. Steffin, Geo. J. Schaller, J. A. Schmitz, D. A. Rice, 
J. H. La Grange, Ariel Tymeson, C. H. McDermott, J. L. Clapp, C. 
B. McGill, L. B. Florey, Boyd McFadden, E. B. Bennett, L. S. Todd, 
J. Park Bair, R. W. Ford, M. A. Fischer, J. T, Edson, Grant E. 
Triplett. 

Washington Township — E. H. Burkler, Joseph R. Gutel, L. M. 
Holcomb, Alex Holmes, J. N. Horackler, H. H. Lang, Wm. Gutel, 
John Strock, Henry L. Steig, Fred H. Steig, Ralph StuU, Henry 
Steinhilver, A. P. Sprague, G. F. Thompson. 

WAR SAVINGS STAMPS 

Buena Vista County oversubscribed her War Savings Stamps 
quota by 3.74 per cent, vi'hile the nation as a whole did not subscribe 
to quite fifty per cent of the national allotment, according to the final 
figures. This is another way in which the county did more than her 
share to help finance the war. 

This was a form of financing from what originated in the sale of 
Thrift Stamps, which began in December of 191 7. It was intended 
to conserve the smallest savings with a view to converting them into 
a national resource. The Thrift Stamps were purchased for twenty- 
five cents each. They were affixed to a card officially known as a 
War Savings Certificate and more popularly known as a "Baby Bond." 
When twenty of these stamps were assembled on the certificate, which 
was valued at sums ranging from $4.12 to $4.23, according to the 
month in which they were purchased, the purchaser paid the differ- 
ence above the $4 represented in stamps attached and the purchase 
price at that time; then the certificate became an interest bearing 
security against the United States due in five years. The law which 
authorized this form of financing provided that the sum outstanding 
at any time should not exceed $2,000,000,000, maturity value, the 
amount of War Savings Certificates sold to any one person at any 
time should not exceed $100, and no person should hold an aggre- 
gate amount exceeding $1,000 at any one time. While it was pri- 
marily intended that these certificates should run for five years, they 
could be redeemed at any money-order postoffice upon ten days' 
notice. 

On March 31, 1919, the net cash receipts derived from the sale of 
War Savings Stamps and Thrift Stamps were $994,694,869.77. Buena 



712 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Vista County's quota, based upon the contemplated issue of $2,000,- 
000,000, was $334,240, but she finally bought in a sum totaling 
$357,128.50. 

While the sale was conducted primarily through the postoffice, 
banks were authorized to make sales, as well as railroad and express 
companies, department and other retail stores who patriotically offer- 
ed their services without expense. Postmasters of the county gave 
personal attention to the sale of War Savings Stamps and Certifi- 
cates. The postmasters of the county during this period were : Storm 
Lake, Mrs. E. S. Morcombe; Alta, N. A. Christensen; Newell, W. 
E. Holtz; Albert City, Oscar Farb; Marathon, Mrs. Laura Figert; 
Sioux Rapids, Mrs. Holmquist; Linn Grove, H. E. Erickson; Rem- 
brandt, Regina Spiegelberg; Truesdale, C. B. Andrews. Under the 
newly-installed system of postal accounting the county seat was the 
central office of the county as a district and all reports were made to 
the postmaster at the county seat. 

L. F. Parker, of Newell, as chairman of the county organization 
which pushed the sale of the stamps was assisted by the following 
organization : 

Executive committee: County Superintendent A. E. Harrison, 
Storm Lake; Mrs. C. T. Millard, Storm Lake; Andrew Brown, Alta; 
H. L. Farmer, Sioux Rapids; W. E. Herren, county agricultural 
agent. Storm Lake. 

Local chairmen: A. H. Barnett, Linn Grove; A. B. Snyder, Sioux 
Rapids; Laura H. Figert, Marathon; G. B. Egington, Storm Lake; 
Chas. Van Buskirk, Alta; W. L. Holtz, Newell; Frank L. Mott, 
Truesdale; C. E. Cooper, Rembrandt; C. B. Whitehead, Albert City. 

Township chairmen : O. E. Anderson, Brooke ; A. D. Oder, Barnes ; 
J. O. Landsness, Lee; Joel E. Johnson, Poland; J. W. Akins, Elk; 
John Rehnstrom, Scott ; W. L. Ernst, Lincoln ; August Anderson, 
Fairfield; R. C. Brogmus, Nokomis; H. H. Lang, Washington; C. F. 
Gutz, Grant; D. Kischer, Coon; L. C. Plog, Maple Valley; L. R. 
Mclntire, Hayes ; R. C. McRae, Providence ; W. H. Holtz, Newell. 

Programs were held in many of the schools, and speakers from out- 
side were secured to help educate and enthuse Buena Vista County 
people on the matter of purchasing War Savings Stamps. 

At the time when the War Savings Stamps plan of finance was 
first announced it was expected that the quota would be taken up dur- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 713 

ing the year by the children and people who wanted to help win the 
war by laying aside small savings. The committee in charge spent 
a lot of time and effort in educational work with considerable suc- 
cess. However, when the year was more than half gone national 
and state leaders of the W. S. S. found that the amount asked for 
would not be raised by the end of the year, so they made a universal 
call, asking for direct solicitation of all people in order to raise the 
quotas. Buena Vista organizations and people responded nobly to 
the call as the foregoing figures show. 

• WAR SAVINGS STAMPS ROSTER^ 

Fairfield Township and Albert City — Oscar M. Fark, C. E. Gil- 
branson, M. M. Hansen, Peter Lindgren, B. A. Peterson, G. M. An- 
derson, Aug. Anderson, Axel Benna, C. J. Benna, J. F. Boyd, Ralph 
E. Carlson, John Erickson, R. S. Sprague, C. A. Walner, Ernest 
Toval. 

Alta — C. A. Van Burkirk, Walter Partridge, W. C. Rowlands, 
Roy H. Wilkinson, Samuel Parker, Henry Poulson, M. J. Lundahl, 
Peter Coxx, R. C. Brogmus, David H. Carpenter, N. A. Christensen. 

Brooks Township — A. B. Colman, H. B. Erickson, Frens Hansen, 
Frank Lindlief, Fred Flagman, L. D. Schultz, C. L. Haight, Walter 
Christensen, Nels Chilgren, Lee Pennington. 

Coon Township — Henry F. Almholtz, J. G. Anderson, O. F. Bel- 
lows, Fred W. Griffel, Jr., Wm Minden, C. F. Porath, E. G. Soder- 
quist, W. O. Sievers, L. T. Webber. 

Elk Township — A. E. Vanderhoff, L. C. Kramer, Henry W. 
Haase, C. N. Christensen, Ellen Hansen, Mrs. C. E. Amnions, J. A. 
Buckingham, Nels Fredericksen, V. W. Haahr, Bertel Hansen, Claus 
Johnson, A. C. Johnson, Mrs. Gust Kruse, C. N. Madsen, W. H. 
Peterson, Gus Peterson, Carl Peterson. 

Grant Township — C. F. Gutz. 

Hayes Township — Mrs. J. H. Ross, Ira Canon, E. M. Renshaw. 

Lincoln Township — Ed Dahlstrom, John Atkins, Geo. Hutchison, 
Miss Amelia Seikman, Miss Rose Shaffer. 

Lee Township — R. R. Morrow, Floyd Anderson, Oliver Byam, An- 
drew Edwardson, E. Fairchild, Rose Hadenfelt, Edna Hadenfelt, J. 

1 We have tried to give as many names of people who have assisted with the War Savings 
Stamps work as possible. We presented questionnaires to all families in the county asking 
the names of the members of the family who had assisted in the various activities. The 
names given here were secured from the questionnaires which were returned to us. 



714 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Oliver Landsness, A. B. Torkelson, A. C. Vail, Blanche Wilson, Fay 
Lenhart, Myrtle Lenhart, Pearl Lenhart, Cordelia Skelton, Wendell 
Skelton. 

Barnes Township — Edward Evans, Harry E. Erickson, J. A. 
Hein, O. H. Hesla, Ira Hansen, A. J. Johnson, John A. Johnson, A. 
W. Michelson, O. E. Anderson, W. J. Rystad, O. L. Anderson, Donald 
M. M. Bateson, Carl Colby, Roy Cleveland, Andrew Johnson, C. A. 
Storla, H. C. Sondberg. 

Maple Valley Township — L. C. Plog, Wm. Younie, R. H. Younie, 
John A. Bruhns, Wm. Frederick, C. J. Schmidt, Geo. Tolzin, Rev. 
Henry Wehking. 

Marathon and Poland Township — Adam Bentley, L. C. Agler, 
Fred Bjork, J. E. Johnson, A. Lindgren, A. R.' Nelson, Adolph Nel- 
son, Roy M. Whitehill, Letha Erickson, Emil Erickson, Almright 
Erickson, W. L. Dingman, Fred Claussen, Ernest Claussen. 

Town of Newell — Geo. W. Chaney, J. E. Brown, L. E. Couch, F. 
O. Holcomb, W. L. Holtz, H. A. Harvey, D. L. Hoeffle, John Newton, 
Walter Olson, L. F. Barker, F. G. Redfield, R. J. Thomas. 

Newell Township — R. H. Sauter, E. W. Cook, Andrew P. Gran, 
Eric P. Kruse. 

Nokomis Township — Peter Strom, L. C. Anderson, Oscar Adolph- 
son, J. A. Blom, D. C. Holmes, Charles McCurdy, Andrew D. Nel- 
son, S. C. Porter, P. J. Swanson, J. B. Stomberg, C. Schott. 

Providence Township — A. B. Heath, James Jensen, Ehos. Mernin, 
Joe McKenna, M. Morrissey, John N. McKenna, J. N. Reding, John 
Toohey, E. P. Wright. 

Rembrandt — Gust E. Peterson, IT. C. Berger, A. D. Oder. 

Scott Township — R. E. Peterson, John M. Rhenstrom, P. H. Betz, 

A. O. Lokken, Oscar F. Bodine, J. P. Conley, C. G. Gustafson, H. C. 
Lindlief, J. C. Larson, Miss Lillian Madsen, Will Patton. 

Sioux Rapids — Mrs. G. W. Alexander, H. S. Farmer, R. E. George, 
J. E. Holden, T. M. Murdock, A. B. Snyder, C. P. Sickels, O. P. Ol- 
son, Alfred Olson, Howard Sawyer. 

Storm Lake — Mrs. O. J. Anderson, Miss Grace Buland, L. E. 
Ballon, Jr., Mrs. J. H. Brown, Mrs. Ed. Dahl, Tom D. Filers, Mrs. 

B. B. Fiscus, Mrs. August Hoch, J. W. Souther, Mrs. Chas. Chap- 
man, Grace E. Mack, Chas. H. J. Mitchell, Geo. C. Mack, Mrs. E. W. 
Oates, Mrs. George T. Putman, Mrs. H. E. Roberts, Mrs. W. G. 
Stock, Mrs. R. W. Roberts, Mrs. J. L. Clapp, Mrs. Henry Steig, F. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 715 

B. Florey, Boyd McFadden, E. B. Barnett, L. S. Todd, J. Park Bair, 
Mrs. Lucy W. Bowers, Mrs. Geo. A. Lewis. 

Washington Township — Henry L. Steig, E. L. Davidson, Walter 
Ernest, H. H. Lang. 

TREASURY CERTIFICATES 

Because of the rapid flow of money through the federal treasury 
to meet heavy demands of war time expenses it was necessary for 
the government to anticipate, at some stages of the war, the revenues 
to be realized from the sale of liberty bonds. In this emergency the 
banks were again called upon. Treasury certificates were issued, 
which were purchased by the banks. These were outstanding claims 
against the funds of the next subsequent issue of bonds. The cer- 
tificates were redeemed from the bank when the bonds were sold, then 
it would not be long until another issue of the certificates was needed 
— and again the banks furnished funds temporarily. The financial 
institutions of Buena Vista County did not ask their customers to 
carry any of this form of collateral, but carried it themselves. Just 
previous to the third, fourth, and fifth loans they loaned in this way 
to the government sums which totaled $2,887,000. The amounts 
credited to the several banks of the county are as follows : 

Farmers Savings Bank, Albert City, $57,500; Security Savings 
Bank Albert City, $212,500; Alta State Bank, Alta, $278,000; First 
National Bank, Alta, $202,500; Bank of Linn Grove, Linn Grove, 
$54,500; First National Bank, Linn Grove, $140,500; Citizens Bank, 
Marathon, $35,500; First National Bank, Marathon, $78,000; Mara- 
thon Savings Bank, Marathon, $8:^,500 ; First National Bank, Newell, 
$111,500; Miller & Chaney Bank, Newell, $204,500; Farmers State 
Bank, Rembrandt, $85,500; First National Bank, Rembrandt, $74,500; 
Bank of Sioux Rapids, Sioux Rapids, $145,500; First National Bank, 
Sioux Rapids, $166,000; Citizens National Bank, Storm Lake, 
$455,000; Commercial National Bank, Storm Lake, $253,500; Securi- 
ty Trust & Savings Bank, Storm Lake, $184,500; Truesdale Savings 
Bank, Truesdale, $65,000. 

BANKS HELPED MANY WAYS 

Reference at this point to the service of the banks in this particular 
line is a reminder of the generous service rendered by these institu- 



7i6 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

tions at many stages of the war period when it was desired to coordi- 
nate individual resources into an activity for the common good. 

It was indeed very natural that the banks should be sought out as 
the proper sources of advice and information on financial issues in 
volving support of governmental finances. No citizen of this county 
ever went to a Buena Vista County banker but what he received all 
the information that was available. The bankers explained the de- 
tails of the many operations ; in the first and second liberty loans they 
practically carried the whole county quota. When the public began 
subscribing for these bonds, the banks sent out notices as to when the 
payments came due ; they offered their safety deposit facilities for the 
safe keeping of bonds before and after delivery to the purchasers ; and 
above all they recommended the purchase of bonds when they knew 
that the payments to meet them would deplete the savings and check- 
ing deposits in the institutions. The banks were active in all the 
campaigns. 

Reports required by the new income tax law were naturally referred 
to the banks. There were months during the rush of war measures 
that the full time of one man was occupied with this service for the 
public and the government. And this at a time when every business 
house in the country was operating with limited personnel. Well 
trained men from every institution had gone into the service of the 
country, making a substitution necessary. Long hours of over-time 
were put in by the active banking forces in order to anywhere near 
meet the demands of the business and the public. 

• PLAN FOR EFFICIENT WORK 

Representatives of the liberty loan organization of Buena Vista 
County who attended the meeting of the Chicago Federal Reserve 
District in advance of the third liberty loan were given a choice of 
two ways of handling the liberty loans of the future. One way was 
to use a colored card system — sending the names of those refusing 
to subscribe on a yellow card, those willing to subscribe part of the 
allotted quota on a pink card, while those who subscribed the full 
quota would be listed on blue cards, the complete list of which would 
be forwarded to the Treasury Department. Under this plan the 
Treasury department would handle the enforcement of the bond sub- 
scription. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 717 

A second plan was the War Service Association plan. The loan 
representative elected to adopt the latter plan because it was thought 
that quicker action could be had under this plan, a better organiza- 
tion could be perfected and held together, and also the loans would 
be handled with less trouble to the people of Buena Vista County, be- 
cause the cases of those who refused to subscribe in full for their 
allotment were in nearly all instances caused through misunderstand- 
ing rather than by hostility to our government. Under the war ser- 
vice plan they could be approached, could be given information and 
have their misapprehensions explained away by people with whom 
they were acquainted. The choice was evidently a wise one, as in no 
case was it necessary to call in the federal authorities, and not a single 
resident of Buena Vista County was tried or convicted under the dif- 
ferent laws of the United States Government during the entire period 
of the war. 

The War Service Association plan called for a complete organiza- 
tion authorized to handle all loans, campaigns, and drives for funds 
used for patriotic purposes during the period of the war and for six 
months thereafter. 

The organization was made up of a county board of ten called the 
War Service Bureau, a state marshal with commission from the gov- 
ernor, and an executive committee of five or more members for each 
town and township, in addition to committees which might be neces- 
sary in sub-divisions of towns or townships. 

The county board of ten, or the War Service Bureau, was of neces- 
sity made up of men living in the county seat, because they must be 
ready at all times of the day to hold meetings on short notice. They 
were selected on the basis of getting men who would handle the af- 
fairs of the bureau without fear or favor. They were under oath to 
attend meetings on call, and not to let business or family relations 
interfere with matters that came up for their attention. The manner 
of selection of this committee assured a representative personnel. The 
county liberty loan chairman appointed two men; they selected the 
next two; the four two more, and so on until the board of ten was 
completed. The board was made up as follows: T. D. Eilers, A. L. 
Whitney, T. H. Chapman, P. J. Toohey, W. C. Edson, F. P. Foster, 
J. A. Schmitz, E. W. Oates, and George M. Pedersen. The officers 
of the board were: T. H. Chapman, president; A. L. Whitney, first 



7i8 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

vice president ; W. C. Edson, second vice president ; T. D. Eilers and 
George M. Pederson, secretaries. 

The man to serve as state marshal was selected by this board, upon 
whose recommendation Governor Harding appointed Pat Clancy of 
Storm Lake who, though serving without remuneration, was com- 
missioned with authority to arrest and hold for investigation. Be- 
hind him and the local board was a law passed by Congress making 
it unlawful to circulate false reports with intent to instruct the sale 
of liberty bonds. The measure was intended to protect the govern- 
ment against those who would weaken its ability to raise the necessary 
funds to finance the war in the manner prescribed by Congress. Pun- 
ishment was designated as a fine of $10,000, twenty years' imprison- 
ment, or both. 

The executive committees of the towns or townships were appoint- 
ed by the bureau with the recommendation of the chairman of each 
district. The chairmen appointed were the men who had been acting 
as chairman of the first and second loans in their respective precincts. 
Articles of association set out the purposes and agreements of the 
men who constituted the bureau as a determination to "aid our gov- 
ernment in carr3dng on the war and promoting loyal and patriotic 
responses to all plans of government, promulgated by constituted au- 
thority, in aid of its war policies, and to that end we pledge our loyal 
devotion." The pledge taken indicated that every member regarded 
the signing of the card as an enlistment in the civilian army of the 
country. No dues were assessed against the members. Any mem- 
ber could be expelled by a three-fourths vote of the members present 
at a regular meeting, provided that such a member should be entitled 
to be advised of the charge against him and to be heard in defense. 
Happily, no occasion ever arose to invoke this provision of the rules. 

The names of the subsidiary organizations and their ofiicial per- 
sonnel is as follows: 

Liberty Loan and War Service Association — George J. Schaller, 
Storm Lake, county chairman ; E. M. Ruroe, Sioux Rapids, vice county 
chairman; J- R- Bell, Storm Lake, publicity chairman; Chas H. J. 
Mitchell, speakers' bureau chairman. 

Providence Township War Service Association — E. P. Wright, 
chairman ; executive committee, A. B. Heathj H. C. Bodholdt, James 
Jensen, E. B. Ackerman, W. G. Avenall; committee, E. J. Compton, 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 719 

Frank Reding, A. Y. Nichols, Carl Christensen, M. T. Toohey, J. H. 
Toohey, J. H. McKenna, Ed Daniels, Wm. Boyce, Henry Haarup. 
War Service Association, West Grant Township — J. M. Hussey, 
chairman ; executive committee, Ed Spooner, Fred Higgins ; commit- 
tee, M. Hoffman, J. S. Amis, Paul Soeth, P. J. Gaherty, Theo. An- 
derson. 

War Service Association, Washington Township — Chairman, 
William Gutel; executive committee, J. N. Horacher, H. H. Lang, 
Joe Gutel, Frank Barr, Ben Eno; committee, A. P. Sprague, Elek 
Holmes, John Strack, Luman Holcomb, Richard Burns, Henry S. 
Steig, Ralph Witter, Ralph Stull, Fred Steig Jr. 

War Service Association, Scott Township — Chairman, George R. 
Fanning; executive committee, Oscar Bodine, William Bice, Oliver 
Brandvold, A. Kacmarynski; committee, P. H. Betz, J. C. Connely, 
J. C. Larson, Sam Enderson, Harry Lindlief, Martin Olson, Harold 
Olson. 

War Service Association, Coon Township — Chairman, H. W. 
Lehmkuhl; executive committee, W. O. Sievers, Dick Kischer, O. F. 
Bellows, C. F. Porath, H. F. Ahnholtz, Fred Kischer, H. D. Thieman; 
committee, Wm. Griffel, A. A. Peterson, Walter Wendrup, R. W. 
Wilson, Carl Neilson, Louis Weber, A. Engles, Mm. Minden, Fred 
Griffel Jr. 

War Service Bureau, Nokomis Township — Chairman, George H. 
Larson ; executive committee, F. W. Cone, Peter Matsen, Peter Strom, 
P. J. Swanson; committee, A. A. Peterson, Christian Hanson, O. W. 
Anderson, Albert Waldo, S. C. Porter, Dave Holmes, George Parrott, 
Albert Ankerson, C. Schott, P. R. Moser, Chas. McCurdy, John Stom- 
berg, Ray Parker, Thos. Cattew, George M. Bell, Alfred Blom, A. 
D. Nelson. 

War Service Association, Maple Valley Township — Chairman, 
Oscar Peterson; executive committee, Bert Schuelke, George Tolzin, 
Chas. Zwemke, L. C. Lichtenberg; committee, Chas. Holtz, John Hol- 
lingsworth, John Koth, Wm. Schmidt, H. D. Hinkeldey, Wm. Fred- 
ericks, John Lichtenberg, Wm. Breecher, Carl Harris, Wm. Younie, 
Alfred Cottong, Henry Husteadt, Gust Turnquist. 

Newell Township War Service Association — Chairman, T. F. 
Householder; executive committee, Ivan M. Adams, E. P. Kruse, L. 



720 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

P. Lund, John Ward ; committee, J. P. Johnson, Mike O'Connor, Will 
Sauter, F. Hemingsen, Andrew Gravi, Will Porath. 

War Service Association, Elk Township — Chairman E. M. INIatz- 
dorf; executive committee, C. M. Hanson, J. A. Buckingham, A. N. 
Peterson, C. G. Johnson; committee, A. C. Johnson, J. P. Anderson, 
Ed Rehnstrom, Walter Lauridson, C. G. Olson, J. V. Petton, George 
N. Booth, Earl Waters, C. N. Christensen, John Pearson, W. H. 
Haase, E. J. Warne, Carl Peterson, Almus Buckingham. 

Lee Township War Service Association — Chairman, W. J. Sut- 
ton; executive committee, B. J. Torkelson, Sam R. Bennett, O. L. 
Byam Art Wilson; committee, Oliver Landsness, Edward Endsley, 
Lou Hadenf eldt, E. Williams, Gus Grey, E. E. Thoma, H. E. Holmes. 

Rembrandt-Barnes War Service Association — Chairman, D. W. 
Thomas; secretary, O. J. Hegna; executive committee, Forest Hick- 
man, Conrad J. Peterson, Hans Olson; committee, A. H. Mickelson, 
Oliver Tolifson, Olof Sewolson, Helmer E. Haroldson, George K. 
Peterson, Wm. McGrew, Harol Haroldson, Oscar Peterson, Tennis 
Bertness, Fred Fairchild. 

Sioux Rapids War Service Association — Chairman, C. L. Sipe; 
executive committee, F. H. Diericks, L. R. White, T. M. Murdock, 
E. E. Smith, A. B. Snyder; committee, O. P. Olsen, Alfred Olsen, 
Howard Sawyer, H. L. Farmer, John Brummer. 

Linn Grove War Service Association — Chairman, Will F. Ander- 
son; executive committee. Otto Dokken, H. C. JNIcDanel, Oscar Ris- 
Vold, E. E. Friedlund, N. P. Nelson, James Lewiston, C. J. Christen- 
sen, Henry Berg, Oscar Erickson, C. F. Stuhlmiller, C. O. Friedlund, 
Fred Mangold, J. T. Evans, O. H. Hesla, Andrew Johnson, H. L. 
Pierce, O. E. Anderson. 

Poland Township War Service Association — Chairman, Sanford 
Lundgren; executive committee, Z. W. Treman, Will Geary, Frank 
Lalley, Charles Thomas; committee, C. V. Okerberg, Joel E. John- 
son, Lee Ruebel, R. W. Williams, G. M. Pullman, O. O. Howard, 
J. W. Watts. 

War Service Association, Storm Lake Township — Chairman, 
Chas. Robbins; executive committee, Ira Angier, W. L. Geisinger, J. 
T. Edson. 

Fairfield Township and Albert City War Service Association — 
Chairman, George R. Anderson; executive committee, C. E. Gulbran- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 721 

son, F. D. Linder, A. J. Ryden, A. L. Bergling, Frank G. Johnson, 
Carl Anderson, Alfred Danielson, Axel Benna ; committee, C. J. Benna, 
Louis E. Larson, Fred Gustafson, J. P. Eckman, Aaron Olson, Hans 
Johnson, Victor Anderson, Chas. Rutherford, Fritz G. Anderson, 
Paul Anderson, Mike Conlin, C. H. Englund, Everett Warren, E. 
Carlson, Arthur Anderson, Chas. A. Anderson, H. W. Lampe, F. T 
Youngquist, Olof Nelson, B. A. Peterson, O. C. Anderson, Albert 
Walstead, Thos. Frykberg, Wm. Behrens, J. A. Patten, George W. 
Anderson, Amandus Skog, August Lindell, Frank Walner, Joe Evans, 
H. Kischer. 

Brooke Township War Service Association — Chairman, Frank 
Lindlief ; executive committee, H. C. Erichsen, C. W. Plagman, Fred 
Plagman, Nils Chilgren; committee, Clayton Haight, Frans Hanson, 
Walter Christensen, L. D. Schultz, L. W. Morris. 

Marathon War Service Association — Chairman, W. J. Miller; 
executive committee, E. B. Wells, J. H. Wegerslev, E. R. Peters, M. 
C. Starrett, N. G. Olney; committee, W. F. Couch, L. C. Burwell, 
M. R. Soth, C. A. Johnson. F. O. Danielson, L. J. Olney, A. W. Ve- 
derstrom, J. A. Hitchcock, A. A. Wells, T. H. Welch. 

Newell War Service Association — Chairman, C. R. Waterman; 
executive committee, M. J. Theusen, M. W. Conley, C. O. E. Erukken, 
E. P. Layman; committee, G. W. Chaney, L. F. Parker, F. G. Red- 
field, E. R. Norton, W. L. Holtz. 

Lincoln Township War Service Association — Chairman, M. O. 
Reuland; executive committee, W. F. Berkler, A. E. Sweet, Avigust 
Siekman, A. I. Schaffer, Henry Hadenfeldt, Wm. Wellmerling, T. 
E. DeSpain, Chas. Blomgren ; committee, Gus Benson, Chas Swanson, 
L. H. Green. 

Alta War Service Association — Chairman, Samuel Parker; exec- 
utive Committee, C. H. Wegersley, L. E. Jockheck, H. J. Poulson, 
J. W. Wilkerson, J. H. Allen; soliciting committee, C. A. Vanbus- 
kirk, H. J. Hofifeins, Wm. Farrow, Frank Watson, R. H. Wilkinson, 
R. C. Brogmus, F. N. Sipe, Frank Parker, N. E. Dahl, C. F. Sang- 
ston, C. J. Hetrick, L. A. Rader, C. E. Cameron, George Hultgren, 
Rev. C. H. Leonard, Lars Larson, O. J. Ellis, E. J. Edwards, D. E. 
Hatten Rev. N. J. Lundahl, C. F. Peterson, P. Morrissey, C. Lind- 
lief, Frank Friedlund, C. D. Peterson, Thos. Scambler, Rev. J. B. 
Walker, J. P. Hultgren, G. F. Tincknell, A. R. Browne. 



722 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

East Grant War Service Association — Chairman, Wm. H. Sie- 
vers ; executive committee, Rev. F. Albrecht, Gust Lehman ; committee, 
Herman Mehlhop, John Sievers, N. C. Nelson, Otto Krog. 

Hayes Township War Service Association — Chairman, Ira Can- 
non; executive committee, Robert Gring, Will Mauser, Alfred Mein- 
hard, Tom Renshaw; committee, W. E. Gaffey, Harry E. Thayer, 
S. R. Haines, Paul Troeger, Will Oatman, Robert Fulton, Ralph 
Diehl, Frank Johnson, Ed Zinn, Wm. Pike, Rudolph Meinhard, Job 
Francis, Frank Eckhardt. 

Storm Lake War Service Association — Chairman, T. D. Filers; 
executive committee, H. G. Mittelstadt, J. A. Schmitz, H. J. Hahne, 
George M. Pedersen. 

First Ward Committee — H. G. Mittelstadt, chairman; George 
Daniels, E. M. Tracy, J. H. Southers, Wm. R. Beals, George C. 
Mack, Frank Kaufman, Carl Jackson, Oscar Bitter, W. N. TuUar, 
Arthur Highes. 

Second Ward Committee — J. A. Schmitz, chairman; J. Park Bair, 
T. K. Alexander, J. B. McKibben, C. F. Wellmerling, J. E. Spooner, 
Bert Marchant, L. S. Todd, B. S. Hollenbeck, E. H. Melcher, F. V. 
Dumbaugh, W. S. Stefifen, W. F. Miller. 

Third Ward Committee — H. J. Hahne, chairman ; George F. 
Wagner, M. F. Fisher, Fred P. Foster, Frank Mittelstadt, J. W. 
Gibson, Frank E. Balzer, A. E. Brunson, G. M. Triplett, Ray Point, 
D. A. Rice, J. C. Bell, N. P. Swanson. 

Fourth Ward Committee — George M. Pedersen, chairman, A. T. 
Troeger, vice chairman; Roy W. Murray, Walter Leckington, Ben 
Kramer, W. G. Young, John O'Boyle, W. E. Christopher, Mike 
Hayes, John Doyle, Chas. F. Meyers, Dick Meinking, Robert Bleak- 
ley, P. J. Toohey, Lawerence Foell. 

Bureau of Military Affairs — T. H. Chapman, chairman; E. W. 
Oates, P. J. Toohey, G. M. Pedersen, F. P. Foster, A. L. Whitney, 
W. C. Edson, H. J. Hahne, J. A. Schmitz, T. D. Filers. 

PROPORTION SHARE OP PLEDGES 

Immediately after the executive committee was organized it pro- 
ceeded to get the pledge cards signed as provided for in the articles 
of the association. All but four of the people of Buena Vista County 
who were asked to join the association signed the cards. These four 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 723 

declined on account of holding conscientious objections to war. On in- 
vestigation it was found that religious grounds were the only reason 
they had for refusing to subscribe to membership. They agreed to 
donate, and did so liberally, to such funds as their conscientious 
scruples would permit. 

After the registration of members of the War Service Association 
was completed a meeting of the executive committees of the county 
was held at the county seat to arrange for the division of the quotas 
of the different funds as given to the county by the state committee 
in charge. A committee consisting of G. F. Tincknell, Alta; J. N. 
Horlacher, Washington Township; E. B. Wells, Marathon; George 
W. Chaney, Newell; and J. A. Schmitz of Storm Lake, was appoint- 
ed to make up a list apportioning the proper percentages of the county 
quota to each town or township unit, on the basis of population and 
assessed valuation, taking into consideration the fact that in some 
townships there was a larger percentage than the average of resi- 
dents who were renting farms. 

This committee reported back with the following percentage list, 
which was approved by the meeting — these proportions to apply on 
all quotas or until such time as the executive committee might see fit 
to ask for a re-rating. 

Brooke, 3.3145 per cent; Linn Grove-Barnes, 4.576 per cent; Sioux 
Rapids, 4.52 per cent; Lee, 3.544 per cent; Poland-Marathon, 6.446 
per cent; Elk, 4.474 per cent; Scott, 3.874 per cent; Rembrandt, 2.653 
per cent; Lincoln, 2.5135 per cent; Fairfield-Albert City, 6.35 per cent; 
Nokomis, 4.45 per cent; Alta, 4.432 per cent; Washington, 3.263 per 
cent; Grant, 4.252 per cent; Coon, 4.014 per cent; Maple Valley, 
4.693 per cent; Hayes, 3.048 per cent; Providence, 4.143 per cent; 
Newell Town, 4.45 per cent; Newell Township, 4.346 per cent; Storm 
Lake, 16.644 per cent. 

The executive committee then made ratings to apportion among 
the members the quota allotted to each precinct, basing each member's 
share on ability to give, taking into consideration both income and net 
worth. The committee called on the members for the subscription al- 
lotted members for the fourth loan, but for all succeeding campaigns 
the members were notified to appear at their polling places to make 
subscriptions. The latter way was much more satisfactory, taking 
less time and work. The executive committee gave due notice of a 



724 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

meeting previous to each campaign for the purpose of hearing any 
complaints from individuals who thought they were not correctly 
rated. During the campaign the committees were instructed not to 
accept less than the quota assigned. If a person thought the ex- 
ecutive committee had been unfair he could appeal to the County War 
Service Bureau who checked up his rating in comparison with per- 
sons in like circumstances. If a rating was found too high it was 
reduced; if correct, the first amount was insisted upon, and in all 
cases was received. If a man ignored the solicitation of the com- 
mittees or did not answer the call, the executive committee turned in 
his name to the county bureau. The county bureau then notified him 
to appear at the county seat at a specified time to explain his conduct. 

If no response was made to this notice the state marshal was sent 
to bring him before the board. The bureau handled an average of 
about twenty cases for each campaign, a very small number consider- 
ing that there were between 4,000 and 5,000 members of the associa- 
tion. All cases handled by the bureau were settled amicably. 

The War Service Association handled the third, fourth, and fifth 
loans. The details of each will be found under the chapter on liberty 
loans. They handled part of the War Savings Stamps, details of 
which will be found under the chapter of War Savings Stamps. They 
handled the second Red Cross drive, the amounts of which are includ- 
ed in the figures given in the chapter on Red Cross. Details showing 
the work on the united work drive are covered in another place. 

A few of the members of this association refused to donate to this 
last mentioned fund; while others refused to do their share on the 
fifth loan. These were for the most part people who had persisted 
in objections before, but the executive committee reports show con- 
siderable of a surprise in the north part of the county, where one of 
the prominent citizens refused to take his full quota which was easily 
not too high. 

Council of National Defeinse 

Soon after the declaration of war. Congress authorized the devel- 
opment of an advisory body which was known as the Council of Na- 
tional Defense. Shortly thereafter the council was organized, its ad- 
visory commission appointed, a director chosen, and its activities 
planned. It appropriately directed its first attention to the Indus- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 725 

trial situation of the country and, by the creation of committees rep- 
resentative of the principal industries, brought together a great store 
of information both as to our capacity for manufacture and as to the 
readaptions possible in an emergency for rapid production of supplies 
of military value. Under the law of its creation, the Council of Na- 
tional Defense is not an executive body, its principal function being 
to supervise and direct investigations and make recommendations to 
the President and the heads of the executive departments with regard 
to a large variety of subjects. There was no intention on the part of 
Congress to subdivide the executive function, but rather to strength- 
en it by equipping it with carefully matured recommendations based 
upon adequate surveys of conditions. It was admirably adapted to 
the task because among the members of the council were those whose 
normal activities brought them into constant contact with all the 
varied peace time activities of the people and who were, therefore, the 
best qualified to judge the most useful opportunities in the new state 
of things for men and interests of which they respectively knew the 
normal relations. 

The Buena Vista County Council of Defense consisted of A. L. 
Whitney, Storm Lake, chairman; E. B. Wells, Marathon, vice chair- 
man; V. E. Herbert, Storm Lake, secretary; Emil Chindlund, Brooke 
Township; A. H. Barnett, Barnes Township; W. J. Sutton, Lee 
Township; Jens Miller, Elk Township; George R. Fanning, Scott 
Township ; Edgar Eastman, Lincoln Township ; C. E. Gulbranson, 
Fairfield Township ; D. H. Carpenter, Nokomis Township ; Dan Ken- 
nedy, Washington Township; F. F. Higgins, Grant Township; James 
Anderson, Coon Township; John HoUingsworth, Maple Valley Town- 
ship; W. E. Gaffey, Hayes Township; E. P. Wright, Providence 
Township; L. F. Parker, Newell Township; W. F. Anderson, Linn 
Grove, member at large. 

The county council gave assistance to all patriotic activities. They 
"kept their ear to the ground"' for any indication of pro-Germanism 
or disloyalty. They acted in an advisory way with all other civilian 
war organizations. They were the first group organized and they 
assisted materially with the organization of the other groups. 



726 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Women's Council of Defense 

The purpose of the women's committee of the Council of National 
Defense was to so coordinate the activities and the resources of the 
organized and unorganized women of the country that their power 
might be immediately utilized in time of need, and to supply a new 
and direct channel of communication and cooperation between wo- 
men and governmental departments. The state divisions in turn or- 
ganized local units of all women's associations and societies without 
regard to creed, purpose, or color. Departments of the work consist- 
ed of registration for service, food production, food conservation, 
women in industry, child welfare, maintaining existing social service 
agencies, safeguarding moral and spiritual forces, educational prop- 
aganda, liberty loans, and Red Cross and allied relief. 

The national head of this organization was Dr. Anna Howard 
Shaw. Prominent leaders in women's work from all over the union 
assumed leadership in this effort, and all its members served without 
compensation. Headquarters were provided by the government in 
Washington, D. C. 

The Iowa Division was organized June 12, 1917. Mrs. Francis 
E. Whilley of Webster City was elected state chairman. 

Mrs. Dora M. Millard of Storm Lake was appointed chairman for 
Buena Vista County and proceeded to promote the organization of the 
county division which was effected August 18, 191 7, when the follow- 
ing officers were elected: First vice chairman, Miss Stella Russell; 
second vice chairman, Miss Grace Mack; third vice chairman, Mrs. 
Charles Richardson ; secretary, Mrs. Jesse McGill ; treasurer, Mrs. 
Ethelyn Edson. In the week of the special drive on War Savings 
Stamps, from April 29 to May 3, 1918, this organization sold 
$25,250 in stamps, bringing the total for the town to date to $42,000. 
In August, 1918, they established the central station for the physical 
examination of children. 

A unit organized at Alta October i, 1917, had as its officers: Chair- 
man, Mrs. Jessie Herron; first vice chairman, Mrs. William Miller; 
second vice chairman, Mrs. George Watson; secretary, Mrs. Elmer 
Benson; treasurer, Mrs. J. W. Morrison. 

The activities at Newell were organized October 24th of the same 
year, when the following ladies were elected to leadership: Chair- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 727 

man, Mrs. Florence M. Armstrong; first vice chairman, Mrs. Lillian 
Norton; second vice chairman, Mrs. John Layman; secretary, Mrs. 
George Fredinburg; treasurer, Mrs. Frank Point. 

Marathon was organized September 6, with Mrs. A. A. Wells as 
chairman; Miss Esther Johnson, first vice chairman; Miss Mae Camp- 
bell, second vice chairman; Mrs. Jay W. Couch, secretary. 

On the 26th of September organization was efifected at Sioux 
Rapids by the election of the following Hst of officers: Chairman, 
Mrs. O. H. Jones; vice chairmen, Mrs. J. RufT and Mrs. Rev. Barry- 
man; secretary, Miss Maud Lamb; treasurer, Miss Cullen. 

The Linn Grove ladies met in October to prepare to cooperate 
with the other women of the county in this work. The members 
organized by electing Mrs. John T. Evans, chairman; Mrs. C. A. 
Fulton, first vice chairman; Mrs. A. F. Johnson, second vice chair- 
man; Mrs. Wm. Rutter, secretary; Mrs. H. E. Erickson, treasurer. 

Activities were not wholly covered by these local organizations, 
so district committeemen were appointed, as follows: Lincoln-Lee, 
Miss Bea Gavin; Fairview, Miss Lillian Madsen; Albert City, Mrs. 
B. S. Bryson; Rembrandt, Mrs. Alta Church Bonicson for 1917, and 
Miss Esther Thomas for 1918; Highview, Miss Mabel Anderson for 
1917, Mrs. William Haxby for 1918; Truesdale, Mrs. Ed Vogel for 

1917, Mrs. M. T. Fletcher for 1918. 

Reviewing the activities of this women's auxiliary to the National 
Council of Defense it is recounted that they canvassed for signatures 
to the food pledge cards in 191 7, resulting in securing the coopera- 
tion of 3,000 women in the food conservation movement ; in February, 

1918, they had charge of the Colby-Beecher meeting; sent out kitchen 
cards and conservation recipes to every family in the county; obtained 
memberships to the organization which secured the home demon- 
stration agent. By the united efifort of this agent and the council 
a food exhibit was prepared for the county fair at Alta in August, 
1918. The council cooperated with the food administration to send 
Hoover's message on conservation to every home; worked with the 
Red Cross to secure recruits for the Student Nurse Reserve, and 
worked to further the response to each liberty loan. 



728 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

women's council of defense roster' 

Hayes Township — Mrs. John E. Higgins. 

Maple Valley Township — Mrs. W. H. Schmidt, Mrs. Chas. Holtz, 
Mrs. J. A. Hollingsworth, Mrs. J. E. L. Schmidt, Paula Schmidt. 

Town of Newell — Mrs. M. A. Armstrong, Mrs. Geo. Brisby. 

Providence Township — Mrs. Duane Shaw. 

Scott Township — Mrs. R, C. Kramer, Mrs. Oscar F. Bodine, Lil- 
lian Madsen. 

Saving Food Systematically 

When the United States went into the war, one of the big tasks that 
was laid upon this country was the providing of a sufficient quantity 
of foodstuffs to meet the needs of that part of Europe which was too 
preoccupied with war activities to produce anywhere near their nor- 
mal crops. Furthermore, when the young men should begin leaving 
this country it would take a certain proportion from agricultural pur- 
suits, thus restricting in a measure the production of this country. 

Profiteers could not be permitted to hoard foods to influence a rise 
in the market ; those who were best able to provide for their own 
needs could not be permitted to corner the supply to the exclusion of 
those who must depend upon small and frequent purchases of the 
necessities. Above all, the resources of this country must not be 
used to satisfy excessive desires in this country, while our soldiers 
overseas, the military men of our Allies and the civilians of the coun- 
tries cooperating with us might be suffering. 

In an editorial comment in April, 191 7, the Storm Lake Pilot-Tri- 
bune said in referring to the food situation: "The cry is not so 
much for soldiers and sailors, at least for the present, but it is for 
producers." 

A food conservation program was initiated early in 191 7. Herbert 
Hoover was appointed national food administrator ; the work in Iowa 
was under the immediate direction of J. F. Deems of Burlington, and 
the Buena Vista County supervision was put in the hands of W. F. 
Anderson and T. D. Filers. 

Representatives from all over the state met at Des Moines April 4, 

1 We have tried to give as many names of people who have assisted with the Women's 
Council of Defense work as possible. We presented questionnaires to all families in the 
county asking the names of the members of the family who had assisted in the various activi- 
ties. The names given here were secured from the questionnaires which were returned to us. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 729 

191 7. A general committee was formed for the purpose of creating 
a greater food production for the state of Iowa. All members were 
actual practical farmers, and met monthly at either Ames or Des 
Moines. They formulated the food production ideas that were car- 
ried out by the State Food Administration. S. R. Haines of Buena 
Vista County presented resolutions pledging the Eleventh Congres- 
sional District and the people of the state to a cooperative effort in food 
production and the most extensive plan of conservation. Mr. Haines 
was named chairman of the Eleventh District organization. The 
state committee was organized May 16, 191 7. 

The campaigns of education which was necessary to secure uni- 
form support of the conservation program was begun the ist day of 
July, 191 7, when all the pastors preached on the subject. In Decem- 
ber, 191 7, specifications were sent out for a standard loaf of bread, 
making it sixteen ounces, and at that time the seUing price was es- 
tablished at eight cents, though it soon raised to a higher value. A 
rule to restrain profiteering in flour said that the dealer should not 
ask a profit greater than $1.25 per barrel. Soon the rules concerning 
the use and sale of both svxgar and flour became more restricted, and a 
federal law was passed giving authority to make the rules eft'ective. 

Sugar was sold in five-pound quantities at an established price of 
ten cents a pound. Sugar bowls were taken off the tables in public 
eating houses, after which such proportion of sweetening as was per- 
mitted to each customer was served by the waiter. These limitations 
had their eft'ect in reducing the production of soft drinks as long as 
the war lasted. As the canning season approached a revision of the 
limitations was necessary. Arrangements were made to permit the 
issuance of sugar certificates through authority of the county food 
commissioner. The amount of sugar that could be purchased at one 
time was ten pounds, and the customer was expected to make all of 
his purchases at one .store where a record of them was kept with a 
view to limiting his monthly purchase to two pounds per person in 
the family. ^ 

In the fall of 1918 sorghum mills were put up in different parts of 
the county, which were operated under license of the food administra- 
tion, which gave them governmental protection. An earlier agita- 
tion in favor of the raising of cane had provided a good crop, and 
this resulted in providing a substitute sweetening. 



730 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Wben food regulation was established it was ordered that any per- 
sons having more than two sacks of flour or ten pounds of sugar 
should return the surplus to the store from which they made the 
purchase. 

Regulations laid down as affecting flour required that an equal 
quantity of substitute should be purchased with flour. Corn meal, 
oat meal, rye, and graham were counted in this consideration. The 
quantity of flour permitted to be purchased was six pounds per month 
for every member of the family. Milling processes were regulated, 
so that the fancy patent flour was under the ban, and instead of using 
fifty per cent of the berry, seventy-four per cent was used. This 
made some change in the color of the finished product, as it was 
darker than the American people had been in the habit of using. 
This method of milling reduced the supply of bran, shorts, and the by- 
products, which in turn inflicted certain hardships upon the mill feed 
trade. 

The need of a large meat supply overseas caused the promulga- 
tion of limitations on the use of beef in the summer of 1918. These 
provided that boiled beef should be served not more than twice week- 
ly, beef steak at only one meal per week, with a total allotment of 
one and a half pounds of beef per week for each person in the family. 
The use of pork was recommended, as it was more available for 
home consumption and less adapted for overseas shipment. 

Even after food regulation began the fourth meal was taboo. If 
fraternities or societies desired to indulge a social occasion at which 
refreshments were to be served it was recommended that they be held 
at an hour which would permit the serving to substitute for a regu- 
lar meal. 

The very great needs of Europe in regard to food were impressed 
upon the people of the county when they gathered for a meeting at 
Storm Lake February 21, 1918, at which addresses were made by ex- 
Senator Everett Colby of New Jersey, and Miss Beecher, a Southern 
lady, both of whom had shortly before visited Europe. Both address- 
es were enlightening and inspired the home folks to greater sacrifices 
for the cause. 

Methods of food conservation in lines outside of those which were 
under strict regulation were made known by Miss Bertha Knight who 
came into the county as home demonstration agent in June, 1918, to 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 731 

be engaged with a society organized in connection with the county 
farm bureau. She also demonstrated methods of canning which en- 
abled housewives to conserve a large supply of vegetables and fruits. 

County food administrators of the Eleventh Congressional District 
met in Storm Lake the 23d of May, 1918, when W. W. White of 
Spirit Lake acted as chairman of the meeting. Another group of 
food conservators who met at the county seat was the hotel men of 
the county who assembled July 5, 1918, to discuss methods of effect- 
ing savings in their particular Hue of business. 

Toward the latter part of June, in 1918, a more general scope of 
price fixing was entered upon. The first price fixing committee con- 
sisted of T. D. Eilers, Dr. V. E. Herbert, H. E. Swope, George Sterg, 
J. N. Horlacher, and H. C. Foster. This committee was later revised 
to include the following as its personnel : A. E. Troeger, chairman, 
Joe J. Duffy, J. C. Bell, J. N. Horlacher, Geo. Steig, H. E. Swope, 
Harry C. Foster, V. E. Herbert, and S. A. Treman. Other county 
officers who had part in handling the food regulations were: P. 
W. Walred, assistant for Storm Lake; Fred C. Bitter, assistant for 
Sulphur Springs; H. H. Lang, assistant for Truesdale; Chas. Van 
Buskirk, assistant for Alta; F. G. Redfield, assistant for Newell; J. 
T. Boyd, assistant for Albert City; Dr. J. A. Delahunt, assistant for 
Marathon; D. W. Thomas, assistant for Rembrandt; C. L. Sipe, as- 
sistant for Sioux Rapids; George Tolzin, assistant for Hanover; H. 
E. Swope, merchants' representative; L. M. Slagee, merchants' rep- 
resentative; Oscar Bitter, hotels and restaurant representative; J. C. 
Bell, bakers' representative; Rev. W. T. McDonald, ministerial rep- 
resentative; C. C. Colwell, fraternal representative; Mae Hamilton, 
publicity; Pat Clancy, enforcement; Fred Higgins, threshermen's 
representative; W. Herron, county agent; Sam Haines, president 
Buena Vista County Farm Bureau. 

Prices were adjusted weekly to permit only a reasonable profit to 
dealers, based upon prevailing wholesale prices, and the publication 
of these prices in the current press kept householders informed as to 
fair prices that they ought to expect to pay. 

In order to establish regularity between the many crews and con- 
formity with administration rules threshers of the county met June 
22, 1918, to formulate rules which should govern the amount and 
kinds of food to be served, and other rules that would control the 



73^ HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

policies of the crews. Prices for threshing were estabHshed at three 
and one-half cents for oats, four cents for barley and six cents for 
wheat, with the understanding that the farmer should furnish the 
fuel consumed for power. It was further agreed that all crews should 
work until 8 p. m. At the meeting of June 22d, H. S. Orrick of the 
United States Food Administration was present. Fred Higgins of 
Grant Township was the chairman of this meeting. 

Under presidential order of May 14, 1918, all dealers in eggs were 
required to have a license. 

In order to curtail the use of flour in the making of ice cream cones 
the sale of this confection was restricted by prohibiting sales on Mon- 
days and Wednesdays, and on any other day after 5 p. m. 

In the fall of 1918 the planting of winter wheat was urged upon 
all farmers, and with the assurance of an established price of $2.26 
per bushel, guaranteed by the Government, encouraged more ven- 
tures in winter wheat in Iowa and in Buena Vista County than had 
ever before been attempted. Seed was secured for the farmers by 
the county agent, and the sale of it from car load lots was a new ex- 
perience in Buena Vista County agriculture. 

Five persons appeared before the food commissioner to answer to 
infractions of sugar regvilations in August, 1918. 

A. T. McElroy, writing at a time when the work of the sugar di- 
vision was about to be closed, said: 

Several days ago I wrote in a general way, expressing my appre- 
ciation for the cooperation you have given us in this sugar work. 
Buena Vista is one of the counties who stuck with us through thick 
and thin. 

Later he wrote, "During the entire period Iowa has confined her- 
self to just the amount of sugar allotted her by Washington. We 
are one of the few states than can look back with pride on our sugar 
conservation record, and to the men who were actuated by the desire to 
serve their country, must be given the credit." 

Gratification over the splendid results of the food conservation 
campaign was expressed in the following language of a letter which 
J. F. Deems directed to the county committee: 

It is gratifying that through self-sacrificing devotion to this war 
service, and with the help of the members of the Women's Committee, 
Iowa gained a position of leadership in the Food Administration work 
of the nation. The credit is yours. As time goes forward we must 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 733 

feel a constantly increasing gratification that the opportunity was 
afforded to render such signal service for our nation and our de- 
fenders. 

As I review the tasks undertaken and the achievements of the Ad- 
ministration, the thrill of having done a real service for our nation, 
the gratification resident in helping our boys win the war, the satisfac- 
tion involved in the discharge of a solemn duty, so far outweigh the 
trials and tribulations, the vexations and disappointment, that only 
pleasant and heart warming memories will live after our organization 
has passed away. 

War Activities of the Farm Bureau 

From the date of the declaration of war w^ith Germany, the Gov- 
ernment ordered the county agents' program to be adjusted to war 
conditions. 

The problems of increased production of farm products was em- 
phasized as a major problem in winning the war. The Allies were 
running short of certain staple foods, and the German submarine was 
making the situation more serious every day. 

With the mobilization of a great army from this country the num- 
ber of non-producers and consumers would be greatly increased, and 
there was a grim necessity that the food supplies of the country be 
greatly increased in order to provision our own and the allied armies, 
as well as to give some relief to the civilian population of the war- 
stricken countries of Europe. 

The farm products which were most urgently needed, and which 
could be most easily transported abroad were, wheat and meat. 
Among meat products, pork and animal fats were most in demand. 

The declaration of war on April 7, 1917, was too late to greatly 
change the plans of production for the season. So a conservation 
program was adopted. To save all kinds of food stuffs was the ur- 
gent need. To use substitute foods in place of those which could 
best be sent abroad. To abstain from the use of certain foods so 
that the supplies for our soldiers and the allies might be increased. 
To this end the Farm Bureau employed every means to bring the 
attention of the people of the county to the necessity of producing 
more of their own food stuffs and the necessity of cutting down on 
the consumption of certain staples. 

The county agent asked for a special meeting of the officers and 



734 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

directors of the Farm Bureau for the purpose of taking up the special 
problems of increased production and conservation and the abandon- 
ment of some of the work projected previous to the outbreak of the 
war. S. R. Haines, president of the Farm Bureau, called a meeting 
at which the plans of production and conservation, as outlined by 
the Department of Agriculture were discussed. It was voted that 
the Farm Bureau organization, tlirough its agent, W. Herron, and 
the special committees appointed, devote the entire energies of the or- 
ganization to the problems related to winning the war. 

The Government was urging an increased acreage of corn, potatoes, 
and garden stuffs. The corn acreage had been practically determined 
at this date, but some increase was secured by using some of the land 
intended for small grain, and by breaking up some extra meadow 
land. Increased potato production was urged in the vicinity of Alta. 
A garden campaign helped to increase potato production throughout 
the county, especially in the towns. Vacant lots were utiHzed and 
practically every square yard of ground was put under cultivation. In 
Storm Lake a considerable part of the parking between the sidewalk 
and the street was utihzed. This "front door" gardening occurred 
to some extent in every town in the county. The increase in pro- 
duction of potatoes in this county in 191 7 was estimated at over thirty 
thousand bushels. The corn acreage was increased at least ten per 
cent. 

With the prospect of a draft of many young men from the farms, 
the farm labor situation was attracting attention. To meet the 
situation to the best advantage a free labor bureau was organized 
with headquarters at the county agent's office. During corn culti- 
vating, haying, harvest, and corn husking, a large number of men 
were secured for the farmers, but not enough could be secured to take 
care of all demands. The Farm Bureau did much in securing fur- 
loughs for farm boys at the various military camps. 

The season of 191 7 was cold and backward and early frosts de- 
stroyed the germinating quality of corn. A seed corn famine loomed 
up in the midst of other activities. The Farm Bureau at once set 
to work to test samples of corn and the seriousness of the situation 
was made public. During the fall, winter, and spring the Farm 
Bureau put in much time locating seed that would be fit to use. By 
planting time enough seed had been secured to save the day, but not 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 735 

without shipping in a considerable quantity which had been located 
in South Dakota, Nebraska, and in other counties of this state. 

During the spring of 1918, the Farm Bureau arranged for the ship- 
ment into the county of four car-loads of seed wheat for the purpose 
of increasing the acreage of spring wheat as a war measure. 

A campaign demonstrating home canning by the cold pack method 
was held during the first two weeks in June. Twenty-four meetings 
were held with a total attendance of 1105. This campaign brought 
splendid results. A conservative estimate of thirty additional quarts 
per family attending these demonstrations would be an increase of 
over 33,000 quarts for these families. Judging from reports received, 
the actual increase was much more than this amount. 

Assistance was given the liberty loan campaign by mailing out lit- 
erature to the farmers on the liberty loan. The mayor of Storm Lake 
was asked to address a meeting of 250 farmers called by the Farm 
Bureau. Help was given in the sale of W.S.S., and the raising of 
funds for the Red Cross, and the Y.M.C.A. war work. Assistance 
was given to the Food Administration in making food and live-stock 
surveys, and in a campaign to save grain at threshing time by urging 
more care in the handling of grain and the better operation of thresh- 
ing machines. 

After July i, 1918, Miss Bertha Knight was appointed as home 
demonstrator for the Farm Bureau. Miss Knight gave her time to 
war work among the women. Demonstrations were also given in 
saving wheat, meat, fats, and sugar. Demonstrations were also giv- 
en in canning and drying of fruits and vegetables, and on the saving 
of fuels and clothing. Miss Knight gave vlauable assistance during 
the influenza epidemic as a dietitian, and in community nursing. Girls' 
canning clubs were organized for the purpose of saving fruits and 
vegetables. The four girls' canning clubs canned 210 quarts of 
fruits and vegetables. Nine garden clubs were organized with 397 
juniors enrolled. Twenty women's units were organized in the coun- 
ty for food and clothing conservation, with a total membership of 
477. Bulletins on conservation to the number of 12,575 were distrib- 
uted. 

A survey was made for the food administrator to determine the 
amount of food saved by canning and drying. This survey showed 
that there were 426,942 quarts of fruits and vegetables, and about 900 



736 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

pounds of dried fruits and vegetables put up in 191 8. One woman 
at Storm Lake canned 388 quarts of vegetables, 574 quarts of fruit, 
T35 quarts of pickles, 20 quarts of jelly, 68 quarts of jam, and put 
down one barrel of kraut. 

Assistance was given in the thrift campaign by encouraging sav- 
ing, and the keeping of household accounts. Test leaflets on account- 
ing were tried by 197 women, and 75 more took yearly household ac- 
count books. 

Many minor activities associated with the necessity of the war, were 
undertaken by the county agent and the home demonstrator. 

Grateful acknowledgment is tendered to the 144 district coopera- 
tors who gave of their time to help the Farm Bureau in its war program. 

Full days and long hours, "without stint to the limit," was the war 
program of the County Farm Bureau workers. 

Officers of the Buena Vista County Farm Bureau were : President, 
S. R. Haines, Storm Lake; vice president, A. B. Heath, Newell; 
treasurer, Joel E. Johnson, Marathon; secretary, L. C. Anderson, 
Alta. The name of each township with its respective director is giv- 
en in the appended list, followed in each case by the district coopera- 
tors : 

Brooke — Fred Flagman, director; Levi M. Morris, John Swanson 
Lewis Schultz, Herman Miller, Frank Lindlief, O. A. Lindblade, 
Franz Hanson, George Johnson, Fred Flagman. 

Barnes — George B. Anderson, director; Wm. Leighton, Ben Shirk, 
A. E. Isacson, George B. Anderson, C. J. Christenson, James Lewis- 
ton, Tennis Bertness, Hans Olson, Harvey McDanel. 

Lee — S. A. Bennett, director; Garfield Goodwin, Will Sutton, Ed 
Duroe, Sam Bennett, Fred Fairchild, Earl Fuller, Gustav Grey, 
Charlie Pewsey, Lou Hadenfeldt. 

Poland — Zidon Tremain, director; S. H. Jeffers, Ben Roberts, 
C. L. McLaughlin, George Pullman, Charles Thomas, Chas. G. John- 
son, Joel E. Johnson, C. B. Hazard. 

Elk — Jay Buckingham, director; N. P. Benson, Gust Peterson, 
George N. Booth, Jay Petlon, Ross Johnson, Jacob Johnson, Eck 
Warme, Wm. Reckoff. 

Scott — Halver Hegna, director; Guy McKibben, Martin Olson, 
R. C. Kramer, Sam Enderson, John Larson, Tom Kevan, P. H. Betts, 
Roy Fanning. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY -jz-] 

Lincoln — H. A. Wellmerling, director; Gus Benson, George Kirby, 
Edgar Eastman, Henry Hadenfeldt, August Siekmann, Albert An- 
derson, Carl Blomgren, M. O. Reuland, A. E. Sweet. 

Fairfield — -Carl Erickson, director; Conrad Carlson, Edward A. 
Johnson, Oscar F. Anderson, Ephraim Carlson, Alfred Danielson, 
Carl A. Erickson, W. T. Johnson, Everett Warren, Frank G. Johnson. 

Nokomis — C. E. Cameron, director; A. A. Pederson, George H. 
Larson, Frank Scott, Charles McCurdy, Peter Matson, Leslie Hatch, 
F. C. Butler, J. A. Blom. 

Washington — J. N. Horlacher, director; J. C. Andrews, Joe 
Hintz, Dan Kennedy, Ralph Witter, R. Ben Eno, Fred H. Steig Jr. 
Frank Barr. 

Grant — J. W. Hussey, director; Joe Goetchius, John Lullman, Ed 
Spooner, Fred Higgins, A. M. Morse, Herman Mehlhop, H. C. Krog, 
Paul Soeth. 

Coon — H. D. Thieman, director; Erick Soderquist, Will Griffel, 
James Anderson, W. O. Sievers, Andrew Nitzke, C. F. Porath, Ross 
Wilson, Oscar Grau. 

Maple Valley — Oscar Peterson, director; Bert Schulke, John Hol- 
lingsworth, D. C. Plog, William Fredericks, Carl Harris, William 
Younie, Alfred Cattong, Henry Hustedt. 

Hayes — Job Francis, director; H. E. Thayer, S. R. Haines, Ira 
Cannon, Fred Crowley, J. Chindlund, Rudolph Meinhard. 

Providence — John Connell, director; Clarence Bodholdt, E. B. 
Ackerman, Wm. Gee, Milton, Crowley, Christ Hansen, E. P. Wright, 
Ara B. Heath, John McKenna, D. D. Shaw. 

Newell — Wm. Huxtable, director; William Sauter, Ivan Adams, 
Harry Shock, Will Porath, John Wart, J. P. Johnson, Harry Robbins, 
George M. Alice. 

Storm Lake Independent — John T. Edson, H. V. Geisinger. 

Alta Independent — C. E. Cameron. 

Assuring the Fuel Supply 

In the autumn of 1917, after a campaign of education as to need 
of coal conservation, when every citizen who was able to do so had 
been admonished to store a winter's supply of coal in advance of the 
actual use of it, the need of fuel regulations were apparent. Early 
storage of the fuel supply was reconimended in order to permit the 



738 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

railroads to handle the traffic at a time when roads were not subject 
to a tie-up from weather conditions, to relieve the burden of traffic 
in the heavy winter season, and in all respects to handle the fuel sup- 
ply with the least burden to common carriers. Conservation of do- 
mestic consumption was advised to meet the heavy demands on ac- 
count of transportation of troops and supplies by steam railroads and 
steamships. 

This particular end was furthered by other means as well. In De- 
cember, 1917, an order was promulgated establishing two lightless 
nights a week, Thursday and Sunday, when the lights on signs and 
display windows should not be burned, thus saving the consumption 
of electricity which is generated through the use of coal. Only one 
light of the cluster used for street illumination was permitted to be 
used. In the middle of January, 191 8, Prof. H. W. Wagner, of the 
engineering faculty of Iowa State College, visited the county to in- 
spect furnaces with a view to seeing whether or not they were being 
fired efficiently. He gave instructions to householders which helped 
them to use fuel more economically. The first of February open 
hours for stores were shortened to save fuel. Mercantile stores were 
open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p. m. ; drug stores from 8:30 a.m. to 
10:30 p.m.; billiard halls from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. During the season 
of heavy consumption, when transportation was slow, deliveries were 
limited to one load to a customer. As an instance of the stress of 
the situation it can be recalled that the week of January 14, 1918, not 
one of the seven dealers in Storm Lake had a pound of coal in their 
bins. During the winters of 1917-1918 and 1918-1919 very little an- 
thracite coal was permitted to come to the central west because of the 
long haul involved. 

The county committee which had charge of the enforcement of fuel 
regulations consisted of J. A. Schmitz of Storm Lake, Harry H. Covev 
of Rembrandt, and R. C. Brogmus of Alta. 

S. R. Haines was appointed chairman of a committee to promote 
the use of wood for fuel. While the county had no considerable field 
of wood supply, there was waste wood from many groves, the use of 
which would reduce the demand for coal. The week of March 18 to 
23, 1918, was designated as "Cut wood for fuel week." 

Chairmen of the wood fuel movement in the several precincts of 
the county were: Storm Lake, S. R. Haines; Lincoln Township, 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 739 

Henry Hadenfeldt ; Fairfield Township, August Anderson; Grant 
Township, Fred Hig-gins; Scott Township, Halver Hegna; Barnes 
Township, George B. Anderson; Lee Township, S. A. Bennett; Elk 
Township, E. M. Matzdorf ; Hayes Township, Job Francis; Washing- 
ton Township, J. N. Horlacher ; Providence Township, John Connell ; 
Maple Valley Township, L. C. Plog; Newell Township, Wm. Hux- 
table ; Coon Township, H. D. Thieman ; Poland Township, Zidon Ere- 
man; Brooke Township, Fred Plagman. 

Report of the Y. M. C. A. 

BY NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS 

Among the welfare organizations which conducted work in the 
camps at home and with the troops overseas, and which received 
generous support from the people of this country, was the Y.M.C.A. 
In view of the large sums which were contributed by the people at 
large it will be interesting to know something of what was accom- 
plished by the organization, though only a cursory resume of it can 
be attempted here. 

When the assembling of an army began it became apparent that 
welfare work was needed along many lines, and it was only natural 
that organizations already operative should enlarge their functions 
to meet the demands. Lewis A. Crossett, a citizen who made a trip 
overseas, has the following to say of the work of these activities : 

From the start the moral welfare of the American soldier was the 
great problem that faced General Pershing, and he summoned every 
one and every influence that could be helped to make a clean army. 
There were seven organizations which the government selected to aid 
General Pershing in his task. They all cooperated with the medical 
staft" of the army. The result is that General Pershig has held and 
is sending home a clean army, and that object has been accomplished 
in a way never before known in the history of the world. The Y.M. 
C.A. is a religious organization; so is the Salvation Army, and so is 
the Knights of Columbus. These organizations, along with the chap- 
lains, have represented the Church to the soldier, and just as much as 
the Church is needed at home, so is it needed overseas; and if religion 
is worth anything to anybody, it is a help and comfort to the men who 
are away from home and facing death and sufifering pain in the 
hospitals. 

The first efforts of the Y.M.C.A. were directed in the camps at 



740 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

home. Wholesome diversion was supplied for hours of recreation 
in the way of entertainments, athletics, and social centers. Buildings 
were erected in the camps to provide quarters for these activities. In 
due time they were extended to overseas service. Work was taken 
up in the Italian army at the request of the King himself after he 
understood the aim of the physical, mental, and spiritual building up 
of the men. Work was carried on in Russia, in Czecho-Slovakia; 
American secretaries were permitted with the Australian, the New 
Zealand, and the British secretaries to go with Allenby all through 
the wonderful Palestine campaign. A special order from French 
army headquarters was necessary to secure authority to establish the 
"Foyer du Soldat" with the French armies, and later Premier Clem- 
enceau said they had been one of the principal factors in maintaining 
the morale of the Franch army. It was the only agency serving 
prisoners of war on both sides from the beginning of the struggle. 
John R. Mott, head of the National Y.M.C. A., says : 

I know I am well within bounds when I say that this agency was the 
means directly of saving the lives of tens of thousands of prisoners; 
and the sanity of thousands of more ; and its spiritual ministry was 
literally life from the dead for multitudes. 

The expense of maintaining these activities was immense on the 
whole and in particular cases unusual to a remarkable degree because 
of the unusual conditions which marked all traffic and supplies pur- 
chasing at the time. The "Y" paid between $60 and $70 a ton for 
coal in order that in hundreds of village and other places where our 
men were billeted there might be one place where the men could dry 
themselves and get some warmth. The gigantic athletic and enter- 
tainment program involved the necessary expenditure for taking to 
Europe hundreds of athletic directors above the draft age and the ex- 
penditure of between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000 on athletic supplies. 
One hvmdred entertainment troupes were maintained overseas for 
the diversion of the soldiers. Moving picture entertainments were 
provided at the "Y" huts, musical instruments were available for 
amusement; 10,000,000 sheets of writing paper and the equivalent en- 
velopes were distributed each week. Money was exchanged, remit- 
tances sent home for the soldiers. 

In order to supply the paper the association bought paper mills in 
Spain and conducted them for the production of the paper that was 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 741 

necessary for soldier correspondence. To provide cooky and cracker 
confections the Association took over the management of forty-four 
factories in France and there made some of the products that were 
sold through the canteens. 

One of the largest tasks of the Y.M.C.A. was that of handling the 
Army Canteen, which duty the Association was requested by the Gov- 
ernment to take over. 

In one place the "Y" men were not expected to go, and that was to 
the hospitals. It had been agreed that the Red Cross should have 
charge of all work there. 

From June, 1918, to April, 1919, the Y.M.C.A. handled in France 
alone upwards of 2,000,000,000 cigarettes, 32,000,000 bars of choco- 
late, 18,000,000 cans of smoking tobacco, 50,000,000 cigars, 60,000,- 
000 cans of jam, 29,000,000 packages of chewing-gum, and 10,000,000 
packages of candy. 

From June, 1918, to February, 1919, 9,554 freight-car loads of 
Y.M.C.A. supplies were hauled. In the month of October alone some 
of the principal items were 765 cars of general supplies, 86 cars of 
flour, 148 cars of sugar, 150 cars of tobacco, 59 cars of chocolate, 63 
cars of raw materials for manufacture, and 144 cars of lumber and 
hut materials. 

On March i, 1919, the Y.M.C.A. had in operation in France 587 
buildings of various kinds which it had erected itself, 596 which it 
had leased, and 782 centers in tents and army buildings. Hotels 
were operated in important centers where the men on leave could be 
accommodated for reasonable charges. 

During the years 1918 and 1919 it provided over 2,250,000 athlet- 
ic articles. Included in this aggregate were 575,000 baseballs, 140,- 
000 baseball bats, 65,000 fielder's gloves, 85,000 indoor baseballs and 
75,000 footballs. These supplies were given to the soldiers. 

The English soldier in France was only a few hours from his home, 
and the French soldier was very close to his home. When an Eng- 
lish soldier obtained leave he could spend his holidays at home. Not 
so with the American soldier. He was far from home, in a strange 
land, with a strange language, so the Y.M.C.A. endeavored to pro- 
vide a substitute for home. It opened large hotels and recreation 
grounds at various centers in France, England, Italy, and Germany, 
where our men could go and spend their holidays. These recreation 



742 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

centers Avere operated jointly by the army and the Y.M.C.A. Enter- 
tainments of all sorts were provided and every effort made to have the 
holiday of each man a success. Sight-seeing departments were pro- 
vided with most of these headquarters. 

Casualties to Y.M.C.A. men during the war are summarized in 
the following statements: Killed in battle zone, lo; died of wounds, 
I ; died of accident and disease, 72 ; wounded and gassed in battle zone, 
no; injured in accidents, 22; missing, made prisoner, 23. Thirty-one 
Red Triangle workers have died in service in the United States. Of 
the many workers overseas, 140 were awarded war medals and 214 
were cited in official reports. 

"Y" workers wore a uniform that simulated the regular army vmi- 
form and were distinguished by a chevron of the red triangle which 
is everywhere accepted as the emblem of the Y.M.C.A. 

IN BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Interest in the welfare organizations became manifest early in the 
war. With the whole hearted support which the people were giv- 
ing to governmental preparation they responded to the call for civil- 
ian auxiliary work which it was afterwards proven was so success- 
ful in sustaining the morale of the men. 

Early in May, 1917, the Y.M.C.A. made an appeal for funds to 
premote the work which was in line with what that institution had 
been doing among men for years. An organization to secure a 
worthy response from this county was soon ready to function. Every 
town and township was organized. Meetings were held in every 
part of the county, and E. C. Wolcott, general secretary for the Y.M. 
C.A. at Sioux City, was in Storm Lake to tell of the big plans for the 
work. In the one meeting at which he spoke the sum of $700 was 
raised. The quota for the state was $150,000; for Buena Vista County 
$1500 — and we made it $2,000. 

In the fall there came a call for a much larger quota. While meet- 
ings were held in all the towns of the county, the big enthusiasm pro- 
ducer was held in Storm Lake, where A. H. O'Connor, battle-scarred 
veteran of the early days of the war, gave people here the first com- 
prehensive idea of the real horrors of war. A sum of $19,000 was 
raised in the county at that time. A county organization of the Y. 
M.C.A. which was active at that time had a drive scheduled just at 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 743 

that time in the fall to raise the budget for the county work, so the 
efifort to raise the sum of $3,000 to maintain the county organization 
was included with the drive for the welfare fund, and that sum was 
raised in addition to the $19,000 for national work. 

As»the several draft contingents left, men of the county were des- 
ignated to accompany them to the camps to look after the comfort 
and happiness of the men enroute. It was generally the rule that 
two men should accompany the contingent. 

In the first campaign undertaken the national call was for $3,000,- 
000; Iowa's quota was $125,000; Buena Vista County's share was 
$800. There was pledged and raised the sum of $1,000. 

In the second campaign the amount asked made the first quota 
seem insignificant and emphasized the largeness of the work being 
planned. The national call was for $35,000,000. Of this amount 
Iowa was asked to raise $800,000, with a quota of $7,000 assigned 
to Buena Vista County. Again she exceeded expectations. The 
county raised $16,010; $15,802 was pledged by seniors, while the 
boys' earn and give campaign netted $208. 

When the third call came it was under the title of the United War 
Work campaign, wherein the needs of the Y.W.C.A., the Salvation 
Army, the American Library Association, the Jewish Welfare Asso- 
ciation, the Knights of Columbus, the War Camp Community Ser- 
vice, and the Y.M.C.A. were presented as one claim for $170,000,000. 
Of this grand total Iowa's quota was $6,133,000. Buena Vista County 
was asked for $43,400. Again she was over-generous; the sum of 
$61,205 was raised. Adults raised $58,000; the boys' victory cam- 
paign, under the leadership of County Superintendent A. E. Harrison, 
raised $1,650; while the victory girls, directed by Mrs. U. S. Parish, 
raised $1,555- The Y.M.C.A. and the Knights of Columbus were the 
two agencies concerned in the united war work drive which were 
most intimately known to the people of this county. 

The officials in charge of the earlier drives were George M. Allee 
of Newell, chairman; N. H. Johnson, Storm Lake, executive secre- 
tary; Dr. W. M. Storey, Storm Lake, treasurer. The War Service 
Board took charge of the united war work drive. Our county had 
the honor of being one of the leading counties in the state in all three 
drives. Reference has been made to the local county organization. 



744 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

It was shown that counties where the Y.M.C.A. was organized on a 
county basis responded most generously to these calls. 

General Pershing, writing of the work of the Y.M.C.A., says : 

On behalf of the A.E.F., I desire to express to you and your fellow 
workers my appreciation and thanks for the splendid services which 
the Y.M.C.A. has performed for the American Army in Europe. 
Yours has been the same spirit which has animated the American 
Army and made possible its contribution to the successful conclusion 
of the war. 

A Buena Vista County soldier, writing to the Pilot-Tribune in June 
1918, said: 

The Y.M.C.A. gives us some excitement once in a while and we 
can see some real American pictures. Can you imagine that, right 
up near the trenches? We have volley ball and boxing to drive dull 
care away. 

Early in September, 19 18, Captain George K. McCullough wrote: 

I am writing at an officers' rest hut run by the Y.M.C.A. It is 
pretty nice and convenient. 

Lieutenant Cecil P. Troeger, from the field in France, communi- 
cated this word : 

We are stopping at a little better place than our last — a Y.M.C.A., 
which is equipped with a few luxuries, such as baths and warm water, 
writing desks, billiard table, magazines, etc. They also serve meals 
and have a very fine dining room. It costs us two francs a meal, 
about forty cents in our money; and although the bread is wheatless, 
and our meals are almost meatless, and the chocolate candy has no 
sweetness, they all taste good to one who is hungry. 

Conrad Anderson, in an address at Albert City after returning 
from the war, said: 

The Y.M.C.A. has been severely criticized for its inefficiency dur- 
ing the war. It is proven that some of its secretaries have been dis- 
honest, but I do not think that the organization as a whole is to be 
blamed for this. Personally, I have always been treated just and 
fair. 

Admiral T. H. Mayo, in his report to the Navy Department, com- 
mends the work of welfare organizations overseas as follows: 

It was satisfactory to note that in practically all cases, whether our 
own naval facilities provided reading, writing, and amusement facili- 
ties for the personnel or not — the Y.M.C.A. was in evidence. Their 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 745 

arrangements were, in many places, all that could be expected in the 
way of comfortable and cheerful quarters ; and, in those places where 
the facilities were not so good, inquiry usually revealed the fact that 
a suitable building was either under way or soon would be. In at 
least one place the Knights of Columbus were found established in a 
commodious building with all in readiness to duplicate the character 
of the work generally associated with Y.M.C.A. activities. 

Report of National Scope of Knights of Columbus 
by national headquarters 

In the report of the war relief activities of the Knights of Colum- 
bus for the year ending June 30, 1919, the Supreme Board of Direc- 
tors of the organization show how the K. of C. have disposed of the 
$17,000,000 received by them up to that date from the united war 
fund of $170,500,000, their quota of which was $25,000,000. In this 
report the Knights also give an accounting for $1,776,409 of their 
pre-drive fund, the fund collected by the K. of C. independently of 
and previous to the united drive of November, 1918. 

The disbursements from the united war work fund were : For ac- 
tivities in the United States, $5,468,060.79, and for activities over- 
seas, $9,550,082.62, a total of $15,018,151.41, leaving an unexpend- 
ed balance on June 30 of $2,112,151.46. 

The $5,468,060.79 expended for activities in the United States was 
apportioned among the following divisions : Building program, in- 
cluding new constructions and additions, rentals, operation and main- 
tenance and equipment, $1,303,022.85. The Knights had 178 build- 
ings and 14 tents in the eastern-northeastern department, 89 build- 
ing and 5 tents in the southeastern department, 152 buildings and 7 
tents in the central-southern department, and 42 buildings and 6 
tents in the western department ; making a total of 461 buildings and 
32 tents. Eleven buildings were being constructed, at permanent 
army posts, on June 30th. 

Personnel expenses, including salaries, traveling expenses, uni- 
forms, and other personal equipment, but excluding headquarters 
staff, cost the Knights $1,046,680.11 for a total personnel of 11 34. 
Activities or service program, including athletics and sports, motion 
pictures and other entertainments, educational, social, and employ- 
ment service, cost $745,659. Motor transport service cost $170,- 



746 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

244.01. On supplies for free distribution, including stationery, pe- 
riodicals, tobacco, food and candy and miscellaneous supplies, such as 
soap, shaving materials, etc., the Knights spent $1,063,368.63. Freight 
and insurance cost the Knights $92,411.53, and general administra- 
tion, $138,058.18; this item covered salary and expenses of headquar- 
ters staff, publicity and rents, and office supplies and incidental ex- 
pense. Other disbursments, including funds at offices of department 
directors and camps and hospitals to meet the hourly needs of opera- 
tions, amounted to $908,616.48. 

For their overseas work the Knights, in the year ending June 30th, 
spent $9,550,082.62. Of this amount $50,294.41 were spent on build- 
ing and equipment; $623,700.01 on personal expense; $438,438.19 on 
athletics, social and moving-picture entertainments, etc.; $110,032.83 
for motor transport service; $4,562,982.06 for supplies for free dis- 
tribution; $166,933.31 for freight and insurance; $89,253.61 for gen- 
eral administration ; and $3,508,448.30 for disbursments to overseas 
commissioners for expenditures overseas on operations. 

Overseas, the Knights maintained 125 huts and clubs of substan- 
tial size, while other more or less ephemeral clubs were equipped and 
maintained to bring the total number of K.C. points of contact with 
the troops to 250. Of these clubs 32 were in Germany, 4 in Italy, 
and 9 in the British Isles, with i opened later in Antwerp. In Siberia 
the K. of C. have a secretary and more are enroute. The Knights 
have also recently opened clubs in Panama, Hawaii, Alaska, and clubs 
have been operated in Cuba and Porto Rico and large quantities of 
goods shipped to Haiti. All this latter work is now included in the 
domestic department. 

The Knights sent 1,075 workers overseas out of a total number of 
7,414 applicants. Every state in the Union was represented in the 
overseas ranks of the K. of C. 

The total amount expended by the Knights on free comforts dur- 
ing the year was within a few dollars of $7,000,000. This includes 
the comforts distributed on transports by the 108 K. of C. secretaries 
engaged in transport work. This sum represents goods purchased in 
this country. Overseas the Knights purchased vast quantities of 
supplies for free distribution. Items included in the list are 900,000,- 
000 beef cubes, 618,000,000 cigarets, 3,750,000 pipes, 546,851 pounds 
of pipe tobacco, 3,000,000 pounds of candy. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 747 

For collection, care, and general administration of their funds the 
Knights spent $166,616.76 — 2.63 per cent of entire disbursements, 
a sum exceeded by the total discounts accruing from prompt payment 
of merchandise bills. The money expended during the year by the 
Knights for their pre-drive fund, distinct from the united fund, was 
distributed through the different avenues of expenditure in a propor- 
tion generally relative to their disbursments of money received on 
their quota in the United States. 

When Iowa's part in the greatest of all world wars has been finally 
written and completed, and the commendable activities of the various 
welfare organizations which did so much to help sustain the courage 
and morals of the brave boys overseas and in American training 
camps have been recounted, the Knights of Columbus of the Hawk- 
eye State will be entitled to their part. 

The Knights of Columbus in Iowa claim the record among frater- 
nal organizations of the state for the number of members in the ser- 
vice. By careful count, 3,800 K. of C.'s voluntarily offered their 
services to help defeat autocracy and today many of these modern 
knights sleep beneath the blue canopy of Flanders field that true de- 
mocracy might survive and flourish. 

Men who have for years been known as leaders in this great Catho- 
lic organization have gladly taken off their coats, opened their purse 
strings and shut up shop that they might go out and help raise money 
not only for their government, but for other worthy causes and in- 
stitutions not allied with their faith. 

When the Knights of Columbus as a whole entered the war work 
at the urgent request of the Government in order that Catholic boys 
might be given the same opportunity to keep up their religious duties 
as those of other faith, an appeal was made to the Catholic people of 
Iowa and a total of $243,224.80 was raised on a quota of $100,000. 
Only in a few remote instances did non-Catholics contribute to this 
particular drive, because the Catholic people felt the money could 
easily be secured among themselves. 

Soon after the President expressed a wish that all welfare agen- 
cies unite in one drive for funds during the fall of 1918, J. H. Deva- 
ney of Cascade, then state deputy for the Knights of Columbus in 
Iowa, offered the support and resources of the organization to the 
state committee which was being formed to handle the campaign. The 



748 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

offer was gladly accepted and the K. of C. state secretary designated 
as the one who would actively represent the state organization in 
Des Moines. Consequently, for over three weeks the state secretary 
was in Des Moines as a member of the state executive staff of the 
united war work campaign, being in charge of publicity and the dis- 
tribution of posters and literature. 

In addition to assisting in every way possible the welfare work of 
the Knights of Columbus at Camp Dodge, which was in direct charge 
of the Fosdick Commission, the order in this state helped to maintain 
a K. of C. club house for the boys at Ames. A K. of C. hut and sec- 
retary also took care of the soldiers in training at Iowa City. 

While the boys to whom the Knights of Columbus ministered 
overseas and in camps on this side of the water have demanded no 
accounting, that organization published a statement of the receipts 
and expenditures of the body for war work. The statement shows 
just how the $25,000,000 allotted to the order from the united war 
relief and other funds was expended, activities on this side of the 
water being listed separately from foreign expenditures. Following 
is the financial report: 

U.S. A.E.F. 

Buildings, maintenance, and equipment. $1,309,022. 85 $ 50,294.41 
Personnel (traveling expenses, etc.)... 1,046,680.11 623,700.01 

Entertainment, employment, social 745,659.00 438,438.19 

Motor transport service 170,244.01 110,032.83 

Supplies for free distribution 92,411.53 4,562,982.06 

General administration 138,058.18 89,253.51 

Freight and insurance 166,933.31 

Directors' operations funds 908,616.48 3,508,448.30 

Totals $5,468,060.79 $9,550,082.62 

\Vhile the Knights of Columbus expended approximately $7,000,- 
000 for cigarettes, candy, cigars, and other comforts, all of which 
were given free to the men, their administration expenses were but 
$166,616.76, which amount was more than oft'set by cash discounts 
for prompt payment of bills. They gave away more free supplies to 
the men than all other relief organizations put together. 

Exclusive of the money raised during the united war activities 
drive the Knights of Columbus of the state contributed $275,000 to 
war relief funds while hostilities were in progress. They began dur- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 749 

ing the border trouble with Mexico in 1916 when the 16,000 Knights 
of Cokimbus in the state gave $2 each, or a total of $32,000. In the 
fall of 1917 and the spring of 1918, a campaign among the councils 
and the Catholic families of the state netted $243,000. 

LOCAL WORK IN K. OF C. 

On April 11, 1918, members of St. Mary's parish met in Foresters' 
Hall and organized a body for the purpose of collecting funds for the 
benefit of our boys at the front. This organization was called "St. 
Mary's Parish, Storm Lake, K. of C. Fund." P. J. Toohey was 
named as president; E. P. Wright, treasurer; and O. B. Kelley, sec- 
retary. Committeemen were appointed to call on every member of 
the parish and put the matter before them. No stated amount was 
required from anyone, but purely voluntary subscriptions were asked. 
Every member of the parish contributed in amounts ranging from 
fifty cents to $100 each, with the result that the total amount of money 
collected was $2,588.75. This was forwarded to Joe McCormick, 
state secretary of the K. of C, to be disposed of as state leaders 
thought best. 

This organization remained active in the drive for united war work 
funds, from which the K. of C. received a previously determined 
proportion. 

The final subscription over the nation to this united war fund was 
$205,000,000, an over-subscription of 20.2 per cent, as compared with 
the over-subscription of this county of 52.5 per cent. 

BuENA Vista S. A. T. C. 

Buena Vista County was fortunate in having in its midst an insti- 
tution qualified to meet the requirements of a Students' Army Train- 
ing School. Buena Vista College began, as soon as the authorization 
of this army attachment was made, to make plans on taking care of 
the young men of this section of the state who would attend such a 
training school. The law was passed in August, 191 8, at the same 
time that the registration of September 12, 191 8, was ordered. 

The law provided a course of study intended to keep the young men 
in college work as long as possible and at the same time to give them 
some class work and considerable drill which would fit them for sol- 
diering should it ever become necessary to use men of that age. The 



750 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

law contemplated the division of the year into four equal periods of 
three months each. The work of the men in school was to be checked 
over every three months by army officers and they would decide 
who, over eighteen years of age, was qualified to go to an officers' 
training school, and furthermore to determine who, not qualified for 
officers, should go into the Infantry. 

The course of study was hard and the drill stiff. The program of 
the days filled the hours from 6:45 a. m. to 9:30 p. m., with the excep- 
tion of three twenty-minvite periods, which were allowed for relaxa- 
tion. On Saturday and Sunday the drill and study hours were not 
so long. 

The college did not find it necessary to erect barracks to accom- 
modate the local company. The one hundred members were quar- 
tered in the third floor of the Bradford Hotel, where living conditions 
were made as nearly like they would be in barracks as was possible. 
The sight of the S.A.T.C. company marching back and forth each 
day between the hotel barracks and the college was a constant remind- 
er of preparations that were being made all over the country for war. 

Officers of the company were Captain Robert Shaw, commanding; 
Lieutenant Orrin Letson, Lieutenant Ethan Norton, Lieutenant Ed- 
ward Edwards. 

BuENA Vista College in War Work 

Aside from being brought conspiciously to the front in war activi- 
ties by reason of the S.A.T.C, Buena Vista College students and 
faculty members promoted a host of notable work which contributed 
a worthy share to the general activities that were being urged and 
consummated from time to time. A summary of war activities of 
those who claim Buena Vista College as their alma mater shows that 
the institution had 209 representatives in the service. Of this num- 
ber 96 were in the S.A.T.C. In the army there were iii, while in 
the navy and marines there were 18. Two faculty members were in 
the service, and one student paid the supreme sacrifice. 

Of the representatives of the college who were in the service one 
was a major, two were captains, twenty-two were lieutenants, ten were 
sergeants, five were corporals, one won the rank of ensign, and one 
was a quartermaster. The number who actually went overseas was 47. 

In civilian work members of the college faculty were busy. Presi- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 751 

dent Stanton Olinger, Dr. J. W. Parkhill, and Prof. J. J. Yost served 
as four-minute men and all were members of the Council of National 
Defense; Alice E. Wilcox completed the course in first aid and home 
nursing and worked in the surgical dressings workroom; Miss Edith 
Cooke completed the courses in first aid and surgical dressings, served 
as workroom supervisor and instructor in the latter, and helped 
to establish workrooms in Marathon and Newell; Miss Jessie Coles 
worked in the surgical dressings workroom, as did Miss Marie Agnew. 

Those who took the surgical dressings course under Miss Cooke 
between January 12 and April 20, 1918, were Marie Agnew, Esther 
Aitken, Ruby Angler, Irma Beazley, Genevieve Benedict, Jessie Coles, 
Mary Chapman, Dorothy Eyres, Mabel Fife, Margaret Hanson, Mil- 
dred Heath, Opal Kraemer, Ruth Meighen, Edna Motter, Florence 
Mitchell, Nora Rohwer, Alice E. Wilcox. Three young ladies who 
finished the standard course were Esther Aitken, Ruth Meighen, 
Florence Mitchell. 

The college as a whole contributed to the Y.M.C.A. ..-ar fund on 
November 21, 1917, the sum of $300; during the united war work 
drive the student friendship war fund received a contribution of $319 
from the college; and on November 4, 1919, on the third Red Cross 
drive the sum of $53 was raised at the college. 

From the receipts of a play, "The Wayside Piper," the Y.W.C.A. 
gave $10 to the hostess house fund. During the campaign for books 
for soldiers 123 were collected through the college library. By the 
sale of badges of the Allied colors, the Women's League raised $55. 
A French orphan was adopted by this same organization, and the 
sum of $36.50 pledged for its support was raised through the benefit 
recital given by Mrs. Holden. Christmas presents for soldiers were 
collected both in 191 7 and 1918. During the Armenian relief drive 
the sum of $45 was realized from a "Conundrum Supper." The 
total amount raised through the college agencies for war and relief 
work was $818.50. 

Library War Se;rvice 

Chairman, Miss Stella Russell; secretary. Miss Elizabeth Walpole; 
treasurer, L. E. Ballou, Jr. 



752 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

RECORD OF COUNTY MEN 

Before the present war history was planned the Storm Lake Public 
Library, at the request of the State Historical Department, took steps 
toward securing a permanent record of the men in the service of their 
country, also of all the Red Cross nurses. The state department con- 
sidered it a patriotic duty on the part of collectors and took it up 
with every librarian in America. 

Miss Elizabeth Walpole, librarian of the Storm Lake Public Li- 
brary, and the library trustees met with the county board of super- 
visors June 21, 1 918, to discuss ways and means of preserving a 
historical record of the soldiers and sailors from Buena Vista County. 
The supervisors agreed to furnish binder, index, and blanks neces- 
sary for such record, with the understanding that the county record- 
er would keep the record. 

Miss Walpole was appointed county chairman and a chairman was 
also appointed for each township. Through this organization the 
data for records of the men were assembled. In addition, a cas- 
ualty list was kept, which was a frequent source of information to 
relatives, friends, and organizations. 

LIBRARY WAR COUNCIL 

People of Buena Vista County who appreciate the companionship 
of books rallied promptly to the call of the American Library Asso- 
ciation which was organized completely within a few months after 
the United States went into war. In June, 191 7, arrangements were 
made with the commission on training camp activities to give the 
American Library Association full responsibility for providing library 
facilities in all army camps, cantonments, and naval stations. 

The sum of $1,000,000 to be raised by a drive the first week in No- 
vember, 191 7, was raised to extend library facilities to all men in the 
service. 

The Buena Vista Library War Council held its first meeting Sep- 
tember 17, 191 7, in the public library at Storm Lake, and organized 
by the election of those listed at the head of this section. With the co- 
operation of women's clubs and other agencies this county put on a 
campaign which resulted in a raising the sum of $808.10, giving it 
the eighth place in the list of Iowa counties in this work; and, for- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 753 

tunately, none of this svim was absorbed in expenses of collection. In 
October of 191 7, the Storm Lake Library sent 131 books to Camp 
Dodge. In December a second drive netted 429 books as Christmas 
presents for the boys at different camps; in April, 1918, another con- 
signment of 714 books of fiction were forwarded; and the following 
December 52 books were sent to the army hospital. Storm Lake 
and vicinity sent 1,325 books and 1,000 magazines, while the towns 
of the county, through women's clubs and similar organizations, con- 
tributed reading matter for the boys. In November, 1918, another 
sum was raised for the library work through the united war work 
drive. 

Welfare Work Co-ordinated 

As the war progressed and more men kept constantly pouring into 
war activities, the needs of the several welfare organizations in- 
creased. Means were developed to handle the raising of the funds for 
these organizations more efficiently. When, in the fall of 1918, it 
became apparent that the several organizations would each need to 
make a campaign a decision was reached to coordinate the efforts 
of the several activities, unite the several budgets into one large sum, 
then apportion the sum raised on a pre-agreed basis among the several 
activities. The national war work council of the Y.M.C.A. was to 
receive $100,000,000; the war work council of the Y.W.C.A., $15,000,- 
000; the national Catholic war council (K.C.), $30,000,000; the Jew- 
ish Welfare Board, $3,500,000; the War Camp Community Service, 
$15,000,000; the American Library Association, $3,500,000; and the 
Salvation Army, $3,500,000 — a grand total of $170,000,000, to be 
used in providing comforts and good cheer, to sustain the morale of 
the American soldiers at home and abroad. 

Iowa's original quota was $4,610,000; Buena Vista County's was 
$43,400. But when all plans were laid it began to appear that a 
larger army would be called into service than was realized when the 
plans for the drive were made earlier in the year. To meet this 
situation the general quota was increased by fifty per cent. Buena 
Vista County accepted the increased quota cheerfully. Final figures 
show that she went fifty-two and five-tenths per cent over the first 
designated quota. Iowa finally contributed $6,500,000, an over-sub- 
scription of forty-one per cent. 



754 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

The amounts contributed by the several precincts of the county 
were as follows: 

Storm Lake, First Ward, $1,398.50; Storm Lake, Second Ward, 
$2,146; Storm Lake, Third Ward, $3,308; Storm Lake, Fourth Ward, 
$3,116.50; Storm Lake Township, $737; Albert City District, $4,- 
058.50; Alta, $3,126.50; Brooke Township, $1,936; Coon Township, 
$2,632; Elk Township, $2,863; Hayes Township, $1,795; East Grant 
Township, $1,639.25; West Grant Township, $1,195; Eee Township, 
$1,771.50; Linn Grove District, $2,695; Lincoln Township, $1,620.50; 
Maple Valley Township, $3,047.50; Marathon District, $4,532.50; 
Newell Town, $3,366.25; Newell Township, $3,220; Nokomis Town- 
ship, $3,137.50; Providence Township, $2,197.50; Rembrandt District, 
$1,912.50; Sioux Rapids, $2,465.50; Scott Township, $2,226; Wash- 
ington Township and Truesdale, $2,021; Victory Boys' campaign, 
$1,226.50; Victory Girls' campaign, $1,007.20; a total of $66,398.20. 
From this should be deducted the expense of campaign, $189.97, leav- 
ing as the net amount deposited in bank, $66,208.23. 

"It does beat all the way Buena Vista County continues to climb. 
You have made a most marvelous record, and I fully appreciate it. 
. . You may be proud of your record." Thus wrote Bruce W. 
Tallman, state Victory Boy leader, in commendation of the effort 
of the boys of the county to contribute to the united war work fund. 
An apportionment of $5 per boy was set, and only one other county in 
the state came as near reaching this mark as did Buena Vista County. 
According to the prevailing proportion of boys, this county was 
counted on for an enrollment of 258 boys, but 475 made pledges. The 
plan of the campaign was to have the boys make pledges and then 
make their payments as the money was raised. The amount credited 
to the Victory Boys in the above tabulation is of date of January 9, 
1919, while the table which follows was a complete report to July 
I, 1919. 

The detailed result of their work is shown in the following figures : 

No. of Amt. Amt. 
District Leader Boys Plgd. Paid 

ElkTownship — C. G. Olson 5 $8.00 $8.00 

Washington Township — R. B. Eno 5 5.00 1.50 

Lincoln Township — Mrs. M. O. Reuland 10 15.75 15.75 

Storm Lake — Supt. C. E. Akers 100 337.75 232.75 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 755 

Storm Lake — St. Mary's School 6 6.00 6.00 

Albert City — Supt. C. B. Whitehead 17 71.75 71-75 

Truesdale — Supt. W. L. Ernest 13 52.00 44.50 

Marathon — Supt. J. W. TeWinkle 39 200.00 181,50 

Maple Valley Township — Prof. Jacol) Schmidt 11 60.00 60.00 

Brooke Consolidated — Mrs. Frank L. Mott. . . 6 30.00 30.00 

Providence — Miss Grace Russell 22 91.00 88.50 

Newell — -Supt. H. H. Linton 38 122.50 122.50 

Rembrandt — Supt. L. C. Lackore 6 27.50 17.50 

Lincoln Lee — Supt. Fred E. Gates 6 27.50 18.50 

Linn Grove — Supt. D. M. Bateson 28 145.00 120.00 

Fairview — J. M. Rehnstrom 10 50.00 50.00 

Grant Township — Prof. C. F. Gutz 22 70.00 70.00 

Alta — Supt. S. G. Reinertsen 69 168.75 ii5--5 

Sioux Rapids ^ — Supt. R. R. Morrow 45 145.00 129.00 

Grant No. i — Genevieve Wilson 2.00 2.00 



475 1,683.00 1,441-50 

VICTORY GIRLS 

Under the leadership of Mrs. U. S. Parrish the Victory Girls were 
organized in the county as an auxiliary body to arouse the interest of 
the girls in this, which proved to be the final act of financing welfare 
activities for the war. The report of this group shows results from 
every portion of the county as follows: 
District Girls Amount 

Alta 86 $125.50 

Marathon 53 222.50 

Newell 39 122.00 

Storm Lake 145 331-10 

Sioux Rapids 51 i95-00 

Rembrandt 15 72.50 

Sulphur Springs 19 80.00 

Truesdale 15 34-00 

Albert City 21 69.00 

Linn Grove 22 80.00 

Fairview Consolidated 15 44.00 

Brooke Consolidated 6 17.00 

Hayes Consolidated 15 45-35 



756 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Lincoln-Lee 15 4700 

Washington Township 4 4.00 

Maple Valley Township 4 4.75 

Grant Township 15 15-75 

St. Mary's Parish School 10 10.70 

Lincoln Township 25.50 

War Mothers of America 

At a reception tendered to the mothers of boys in service by Mrs. 
A. P. Scott and Miss Mae Hamilton, at the Commercial Club rooms, 
on March ig, 1918, a club was organized which at that time selected 
the name of the Service Mothers' Club. Later the name was altered 
to the War Mothers of America to affiliate with a national movement 
which looked to a permanent association of the mothers whose inter- 
ests had become so much in common through their common sacrifices 
and interests. 

During the early months of organization the mothers met the last 
Thursday of every month to spend an afternoon reading the latest 
news from the boys and to scatter cheer while they knitted or sewed. 
Later the meeting date was changed to the nth of each month, a date 
that was chosen in commemoration of the time of the signing of the 
armistice. 

Membership in the organization has always been open to mothers 
of soldiers, sailors, marines, or nurses, and associate memberships are 
received from wives, sisters, and daughters of such. Formal initia- 
tion was never required ; it was only expected that ladies would asso- 
ciate themselves with the club by attending the meetings. 

The first corps of officers chosen consisted of Mrs. A. T. Troeger, 
.president; Mrs. James Deland, vice president; Mrs. William Aitken, 
secretary. Upon the reorganization in January, 1919, when the club 
affiliated with the national organization, Mrs. James Deland was 
named as president; Mrs. John McFadden, first vice president; Mrs. 
W. J. Beatty, second vice president; Mrs. G. M. Gilliland, treasurer; 
Mrs. William Aitken, secretary; Mrs. L. W. Bowers, historian. 

The object of cheering each other was never forgotten. The com- 
ment was made that during the months of war there was not a mother 
who did not feel her morale strengthened by meeting with other 
mothers and hearing what they had to say. This was especially true 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 757 

when some of our boys were called upon to make the supreme sacrifice. 
The program of the meetings seldom varied during the months of ac- 
tive war. Tn answer to the roll call response was made b}- each mo- 
ther telHng the latest news of her hero. When occasion ofifered the 
boys home on furlough or returned from service were proudly 
brought to the gathering to tell of their experience in training camp 
or battlefield. 

This great organization, approved by President Wilson, and with 
national headquarters at Evansville, Ind., has enrolled over one mill- 
ion members. 

In peace, these mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters will work to 
perpetuate those ideals their men had defended, by: 

( 1 ) Fostering such a democracy among women as our sons found 
in the trenches. 

(2) Refusing to recognize again the little clicjues and classes 
which once separated us by keeping alive the big things that drew us 
together. 

(3) Refusing to return to those non-essentials in domestic life 
which were cast out that we might find time for war work. 

(4) Assisting as an organization in the Americanization of for- 
eigners, and promoting a nation-wide campaign for pro-American 
talks. 

(5) Cementing the ties of sisterhood which bind us to the women 
overseas whose sons, husbands, and brothers have fought with ours. 

(6) Preserving in each community records of the patriotic ser- 
vices of our men and women. 

(7) Insisting upon such education and training of the coming 
generation as shall assure us that our dead shall not have died in vain. 

(8) Assuming our share of responsibility in determining the char- 
acter of the new world which shall be after this war. 

(g) To consider the importance of the c^uestion involved in the 
absorption in other work of thousands of men now engaged in war in- 
dustries, and the replacement of thousands of men by women workers. 

(10) To consider the question of education, including the encour- 
agement of further education of the returned soldiers, the return to 
school of hundreds of children drawn into the industries by war 
demands. 

(11) To connect and supplement the work done by religious or- 
ganizations, there should be methods adopted. 

(12) Opposing the teaching of German in our public schools. Ev- 
ery organization should be represented on all committees pertaining 
to their local civic welfare such as charities. Red Cross, school boards, 



758 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Young Men's Christian Association, Jewish Welfare Board, American 
Library Association, and the Sanation Army, and give their support 
to the Young Men's Christian Association and the Knights of 
Coknnbus. 

The executive secretary of the national organization is the only 
paid officer employed. The treasurer is required to give a bond with 
surety approved by the national executive board. 

At the time of the writing of this record the selection of a badge or 
emblem has 'not been made, but it is planned that one shall be designed 
which will suitably represent the purposes of the organization. 

New Revenue Laws 

One method of raising finances to which resort was taken was a 
new law which taxed practically all incomes. Every married person 
with an income over $2,000 per year, and every single man whose in- 
come was more than $1,000 a year, was required to make a report to 
the Government detailing his income, and was then required to pay a 
tax upon the excess above the sums noted. 

The levying of a revenue tax against negotiable paper and property 
transfer instruments reached practically everyone with any consider- 
able business dealings. The sale of stamps to represent these taxes 
was conducted through the postoffices and began December r, 191 7. 
One of the items in the current press of the times recited the fact 
that Robert Bleakly paid $100 revenue for the recording of a deed 
to 480 acres, the value of which was $105,600. 

A revenue tax against amusements was charged against each pat- 
ron of the enterprise in the sum of ten per cent of the admission fee. 
During the summer amusement season of 1918, the George D. Sweet 
theatrical enterprise, which made headquarters at Storm Lake, paid 
in the sum of $2,600 in war tax. 

Protecting Home Supplies 

Following reports which were received from governmental sources 
to the efifect that an organized effort was to be put forth to destroy 
grain elevators and other storehouses during the holidays of 1917- 
1918, a meeting was held at the Commercial Club rooms in Storm 
Lake December 26, 191 7, when a company of home guards was organ- 
ized. Business men of the city signified their willingness to do ser- 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 759 

vice in this line, and during the remainder of the winter a dozen men 
patrolled regular beats about the sections of town most liable to dan- 
ger from any such malicious source. A fire was discovered in the 
factory of the Storm Lake Tank and Silo Company on the night of 
January 22, 1918. At different times transients who were unable to 
give creditable accounts of their presence upon the streets at unusual 
hours of the night were taken in charge, and on two or three occa- 
sions were found to be men who had attempted to evade the draft in 
other communities. 

As an extra precaution members of the fire company took turns in 
sleeping in pairs at the fire station to be on hand for duty should 
emergency call. 

For Hunger Relief in Europe 

Buena Vista County contributed the sum of $8,823.73 to an Ar- 
menian relief fund. The whole amount raised by the state was 
$654,148.56. This contribution was solicited in the county bv the 
Rev. W. T. McDonald, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church of 
Storm Lake, and forwarded through a state committee headed by Dr. 
J. Edward Kirbye of Des Moines. 

Soldiers' Relief Committee 

A committee appointed in Storm Lake to provide needed soldiers' 
relief consisted of George Currier, chairman; A. R. Biddle, M. E. 
Tracy, H. G. Mittelstadt, Robt. Bleakly, and Chris Mikkelson. 

Mr. Currier solicited a fund of $112 which was used to purchase a 
large flag that hung over Lake Avenue during the war and on patri- 
otic occasions thereafter. 

A soldiers' relief committee from Albert City, of which A. L. Berg- 
ling was treasurer, reports the collection of $756.33, of which $200 
was still in the treasury at the end of the war. Through subscrip- 
tions they raised $63 ; the proceeds from an oyster supper added $33.23 ; 
from an entertainment, $160.10; from the Albert City Red Cross 
chapter, $500. Total, $756.33. Of this amount $35.84 was disbursed 
for an oyster supper for the departing soldiers; $81.84 for material 
for comfort kits; $56.60 for funeral expenses of Private Gottfred 
Bengston; $12.20 for a service flag; $5 paid each departing soldier 
totaled $370. 

The Hanover Church in Maple Valley Township, of which Rev. 



76o HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

Henry Wehking was pastor, raised the sum of $1300 for the Luther- 
an Brotherhood. 

Zion EvangeHcal Lutheran Church in Grant Township, under the 
pastorate of Rev. F. Albrecht, contributed to the Lutheran Church 
Board for army and navy reHef the sum of $517. Another activity 
taken up by the young people of this same congregation was the col- 
lection of a fund at band concerts to be sent to the boys under the 
flag. The several amounts here totaled $128.38. 

The Maids of America 

Shortly after war was declared a number of young ladies at Storm 
Lake organized a club for the purpose of doing whatever they could 
to make for the comfort of Buena Vista County men in the service. 
They held frequent meetings at the homes of the members. 

The activities of this organization were the sending of candy, cake, 
fruit, letters, and Christmas packages. They knitted at all meetings 
and paid for the yarn they used. 

The following were the members of the Maids of America : Opal 
Toy, Margaret Skiff, Esther McAnulty, Helen Hurley, Mamie Soeth, 
Mary Foote, Gladys Nusbaum, Genevieve Benedict, Lurene Swope, 
and Frances Chapman. 

Supporting French Orphan 

The A.B.C. Club is an organization of ladies in the vicinity of Alta, 
with a membership of fourteen. The club was organized at a meet- 
ing held April 3, 191 8, with the purpose of helping a bit to win the 
war, or to relieve in any measure the distress of suffering humanity. 
The ladies used their time in sewing for the Red Cross. One of the 
most interesting efforts was the raising of $36.50 which was sent to 
France for the support of a war orphan. The secretary of the club, 
Mrs.' J. B. Stomberg, received the following letter of acknowledg- 
ment from the widowed mother of little Clotilda Dusson, to whom 
the support was given. The letter is produced with fidelity to the 
original. It reads: 

I am come to receive from the Office of Repartitions of America 
two orphans of the war, and after some days your address and money 
order for forty-five francs for my little daughter, Clotilda Dusson. 
Oh how much I thank ybu for this generous gift. I would have been 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 761 

very happy if my little girl could thank you herself with a polite let- 
ter. But she is still very little, five and a half years old. She has 
not been in class more than two months, and does not yet know how 
to write. However she asks me to tell you that she intends to work 
with her best effort to be able to do so soon. I enclose a photograph 
which was taken last year and I hope it will please you. With our 
thanks and good wishes of happiness on the part of little Clotilda. I 
ask you to accept the assurance of my respectful regards and of my 
sincei-e friendship. Madam Dusson, 

4 Rue Asile Alamagny, St. Charmond, France. 

Nbwspaper Men Helped 

Acknowledgment is due to the newspaper men of the county who 
attended the meeting looking to organization for public activity, gave 
much helpful publicity to all work, and helped carry the plans and the 
spirit of the various committees directly to the people. The editors 
and publishers of the county during- this trying time were George W. 
Evans of the Linn Grove Independent; C. E. Ryder and G. M. Sher- 
man of the Sioux Rapids Republican-Press; M. R. Soeth of the Mara- 
thon Republic; J. T. Boyd of the Albert City Appeal; H. C. Gordon 
of the Newell Mirror; Mrs. E. C. Thatcher of the Alta Adi'crtiser; 
Chas. H. J. Mitchell of the Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune; John R. Bell 
and Scott H. McClure of the Storm Lake Register. Soon after the 
close of the war the Albert City Appeal was purchased by Ira W. 
McNames, who had just come home from a long campaign with 
Uncle Sam's army overseas. He also saw service on the Mexican 
border before the United States entered the war against Germany. 
The Marathon Republic has been purchased by Mr. Fish and the Alta 
Advertiser by a company of Alta business men. 

Sundry Items' 

The first Buena Vista County man to make the supreme sacrifice 
was John Brazel, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Brazel of Scott Town- 
ship. The young man was first taken with the measles when he was 
serving as fireman on the Montana. Apparently he improved, but 
was later taken with malarial fever and passed away on a hospital 
ship at Norfolk, Virginia. He had been married to Bell McGrew 

1 Clipped from county newspapers. 



762 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

a few years before lie enlisted and they had made their home at 
Sioux Rapids, just prior to the war. 

Probably the youngest man in the service from this county was 
Sidney Lanham of Alta, who was born July i6, 1901, and at the time 
of enlistment was 17 years, 8 months, and 15 days old. 

One of the notable farewell occasions held before the departure of 
Buena Arista County men was the reception held by the A. F. and A. M. 
of Storm Lake, on August 25, 19 17. At that time Jos. E. Morcombe 
first made known his plan to give each member of the lodge who went 
overseas a letter of introduction and recommendation to A/fasonic 
circles in France. The card, printed in French, was valuable to the 
soldier because of Mr. Morcombe's standing as the representative in 
this country of. the Grand Lodge of France. 

"Smokes for Soldiers" was a popular slogan, to which there was a 
generous response soon after the country realized that every effort 
the citizens made contributed to the comfort of the men in service. 
T. A. Marten and George C. Mack were the Storm Lake committee 
who handled this work, and there were committees in each town. 
The collections were taken largely through receptacles left at con- 
venient places about towns. 

The first drafted men left September 5, 191 7. 

Miss Josephine Sibberell, thoroughly trained as a nurse, was re- 
jected for service with the Red Cross because her mother was of 
Gernian nativity. 

In draft contingents which went prior to November 23, 191 7, five 
aliens declined to ask for exent[3tions because of the fact that they 
were aliens. Enlistment permitted them to be naturalized without 
the long years of giving notice of intent. 

Victor Penn of Alta was the first to return his questionnaire when 
the selective service process was being carried out. He had his re- 
sponse in the hands of the board twenty-four hours after it reached him. 

The first contingents which were sent were selected from the in- 
formations contained in their registration cards, without waiting for 
the return of the questionnaires, which required considerable time. 

Service flags were the proud possession of churches, fraternities, 
schools, business institutions, clubs, and any other organization which 
numbered soldiers, sailors, marines, or nurses among its membership. 
The service flag was a white quadrangle for the center, with a wide 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 763 

red border all around. Blue stars represented the men in service, 
gold stars those who had made the supreme sacrifice ; while the nurses 
were represented by red crosses. Many an inspiring patriotic service 
was held to mark the dedication of a service flag for county, communi- 
ty, or organization. If the army could have been counted by the 
stars on all the service flags it would have been overwhelming. 

Contributions for the Navy League, an organization which did wel- 
fare work among men of the navy, were cared for in Storm Lake by 
the Security Trust and Savings Bank. 

Unnaturalized Germans were required to register early in 1918. 
With the data which the Government demanded each registrant was 
expected to furnish a photo of him or herself. The number which 
was registered in Buena Vista County was not large. Postmasters 
were made the registering officers for this service. Penalty for fail- 
ure to meet this demand was internment for the period of the war. 

The G.A.R. and the W.R.C. of the county seat presented Buena 
Vista College with a beautiful flag which was presented at a patri- 
otic service held February 2.2, 1918. 

Jean Norris, a son of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Norris of Sioux Rapids, 
was appointed secretary to the American Legation at Copenhagen in 
February, 1918. 

A soldiers' relief committee was appointed early in 1917, consist- 
ing of Colonel George Currier, P. C. Mickelson, M. E. Tracy, Robt. 
Bleakly, and H. G. Mittelstadt. 

A flag pole and a large flag were presented to the town of Sioux 
Rapids by a patriotic citizen in the spring of 1918. 

It was announced in March, 1918, that 30,000 letters written by 
soldiers in France went down in the Andania. 

Fred J. Robinson was the first Buena Vista County boy wounded 
in France. 

Hayes Consolidated School bought a large flag and staft' which was 
erected as soon as the frost was out of the ground in the spring of 191 8. 

When Arthur G. Hughes, a member of the Storm Lake fire depart- 
ment, departed on April 9, 1918, with others who were bound for 
Madison, Wisconsin, he was escorted to the station by members of 
the company, who had the big truck decorated in flags and bunting 
for the occasion. 

In April, 1918, orders came to refuse all mail parcels addressed to 



764 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

soldiers overseas unless it was specifically shown that the soldiers 
had asked for the shipment. This was made necessary to relieve 
east-bound shipments. , 

A Newell young lady received a nice little note from the censor at 
Washington in April, 1918, informing her that her sweetheart had 
said "too much"' in his letter and that it could not be forwarded to 
her, but added for her peace of mind that he was well. 

Wives, widows, and daughters of Civil War veterans made feather 
pillows for soldier convalescents. 

The teaching of German was tabooed in the Storm Lake High 
School by action of the board taken March 22, 191 8. 

Early in May, 191 8, it was announced that the War Department 
would permit the publication of the addresses of men in connection 
with the casualty lists. A previous system of leaving ofif the address 
gave rise to some confusion regarding men with similar names. 

Checks cashed through French banks by Buena Vista County sol- 
diers were at one time a Curiosity. 

Alta dedicated a very substantial flag pole June 14, 1918, with a 
special address by Judge F. E. Helsell of Fort Dodge. 

Robt. Wallace was arrested at Alta in May, 1918, as a draft eva- 
der. It was afterwards learned that he had registered at Peoria, 
Illinois, but when it came time to answer a call to service he was 
found to be among the "missing." 

Revision of regulations concerning mail worked to the comfort of 
soldiers overseas after the change was effected in May, 1918. Pre- 
vious to that time the Government had refused to keep the postoffice 
advised of movements of troops on account of the fact that this 
might be divulging important information. Trained clerks were fur- 
nished to handle the soldier mail and the overseas postoffices were 
designated by numbers rather than by name. 

In the summer of 1918, community sings were an effective means 
of arousing enthusiasm and patriotism. A regular course of such 
sings was held in the park on the lake front at Storm Lake. The 
idea was suggested by the federated clubs. 

One-fourth of the corn output of the Storm Lake factory of the Sac 
City Canning Company was sold to the Government in 19 18. 

Two men attired in army uniforms who visited Storm Lake early in 
the summer of 191 8, and who told vivid stories of experiences with 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 765 

the One Hundred Sixty-eighth Regiment overseas, were afterwards 
found to be deserters from the home guards in Des Moines. 

Miss Belle Kearney, returned from overseas, visited the county in 
July, 1 918, speaking on the subject, "War Time in Europe." She 
came in behalf of the W.C.T.U. 

In the summer of 1918, the Storm Lake band gave Sunday after- 
noon and Saturday night concerts and at the end of the season turned 
$500 into the Red Cross treasury. The director served without sal- 
ary to further this good purpose. 

A Gypsy band traveling through Alta in the summer of 191 8, plead- 
ed guilty to having among their number an alien enemy who would 
not go to war, but they made peace with officers by paying $150 to 
be divided among various war welfare funds. 

An effort to reorganize a company of militia to take the place of 
the National Guard company which had gone into federal service was 
made in August, 1918. Practically all of the men of age which gen- 
erally are active in such an organization were already in war, so it 
was necessary to recruit it from very young and middle-aged men. 
At one time 135 of the 150 men required were subscribed. The or- 
ganization was never completed. 

Probably so complete a revolution of normal affairs was not accom- 
plished in any other line as in the readjustment of retail credits. 
While there was never any doubt but what this section of the country 
had ample resources to meet all the calls for the sale of bonds and 
contributions to welfare work, yet conditions in commerical circles, 
working out through the regulation of wholesale credits over the entire 
country, had their effect even down to the most resourceful communi- 
ty. Credits were shortened in the wholesale trade. Naturally the 
retail trade had to meet the emergenc3^ Finally, in August, 1918, 
many of the retail dealers announced a "Cash and Carry" plan of 
doing business. Deliveries were curtailed and finally abolished with 
a view to doing away with one of the items of expense which would, 
if maintained, add to the steadily rising costs of the most necessary 
supplies. This revolution brought the housewife to market, with the 
result that she did much more careful buying than she could possibly 
do over the telephone. This scheme of things had its effect on retail 
merchandising for many months after the war was over. In fact, 



766 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY ^ 

it educated the whole population to a more exact idea of merchandise 
credits. 

Even the newspapers felt the restrictions of war regulation. In 
the summer of 19 18, the War Industries Board established rules pro- 
hibiting the circulation of papers to others than strictly bona fide 
subscribers, restricting the printing of extra copies and needlessly 
large editions, with a view to conserving the supply of print paper 
so that all publishers might be supplied. Reports were required at 
regular intervals showing the consumption of paper. 

Assemblages for farewells were not held alone at the county-seat, 
whence the draft contingents took their departure, but committees, 
churches, and fraternities each paid their own compliments to those of 
their number or membership who might be leaving. In nearly every 
such instance a useful gift was presented to the departing soldier. 

"American flags wave from every door and window as the troop 
trains pass," wrote Don Hill from England in September, 1918. 

With a view to conserving all resources for war purposes an order 
was promulgated from Washington in September, 1918, directing our 
board of supervisors not to let any contracts for road or bridge work. 
This, however, was in line with a policy that covered all manner of 
public construction. While Buena Vista County was at that time in 
the midst of an era of progress which was accomplishing new public 
building enterprises at the many towns of the county it is not record- 
ed that any very important work was delayed by this policy. Some 
splendid public enterprises had been started before the need of this 
order became apparent, and they were finished. 

In October, 1918, Colonel George Currier, a fervid patriot of Civil 
War service, raised $100 to buy a community flag for Storm Lake. 
This was suspended from a rope that hung between buildings on 
Lake Avenue. 

The Spanish influenza, which was epidemic among soldiers and sail- 
ors, also worked its ravages in the civilian population. In the fall 
of 1918, the man power of the county was greatly weakened by the 
epidemic, and every resource at command was made necessary to com- 
bat it. Many county activities were retarded by the plague. 

A special campaign of patriotic instruction and enthusiasm was be- 
gun in Storm Lake April 13, 1917, when Company M came down 
from Cherokee to have part in a loyalty demonstration. Schools, the 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 767 

college, the G.A.R., and other organizations participated. The spirit 
of patriotism was inspired by addresses by J. H. Haughey, a veteran 
of the Civil War, by F. F. Faville and the Reverend T. A. Ambler. 
Another great meeting was held October 10, 1918, when the principal 
speaker was F. H. Helsell of Fort Dodge, Iowa, formerly of Sioux 
Rapids. 

The record of one of the faithful knitters is available to date of 
February 15, 1918. Mrs. C. M. Reese, of Alta, sixty-one years of 
age, and with three boys in the service, had knitted 18 sweaters, 8 
pairs of socks, 4 pairs of wristlets, 7 helmets, 2 scarfs, 4 pairs of mit- 
tens, and one pair of gloves. 

The first large enlistment of Storm Lake boys was on April 5, 191 7, 
at a public meeting at the Commercial Club rooms, when twelve men 
enlisted. 

Soon after the declaration of war it was announced that mail ser- 
vice to Germany, Austria, Luxemburg, and Turkey was cut off. 

On Christmas morning, 191 7, the Red Cross was given a check 
for $100, the proceeds of a supper given by Storm Lake Homestead 
No. 361, Brotherhood of American Yeomen. 

One service man in Buena Vista County entered the service three 
times and was discharged three times. 

The Social Club of Storm Lake 

In 1916 the Social Ckib sent a Thanksgiving box containing cook- 
ies, jellies, towels, etc.. to the boys on the border. 

June 7, 191 7, the club voted to donate the sum of $5 to the Red 
Cross ; also to do as much Red Cross work as possible during the year. 

October 11, 1917, donated $10 more to the Red Cross. 

December 3, 1917, donated $10 for Chrstmas packages for the 
soldiers. 

December 13, 1917, the members each gave $1.50 for the purchase 
of yarn to be knitted at home to supply soldiers who had no one to 
supply them. Four complete sets were volunteered. 

October 8, 1918, voted $10 for filling twenty housewives for the 
soldiers. 

December 12, 191 8, took up the work of serving for the Belgium 
children which work they continued to do as long as there was need. 

February 18, 191 9, the Social Club adopted a French war orphan 



768 HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 

(a bo}'). His name, Francois Tangui; born Jvlay 9, 191 1, in Guis- 
criff, Moebihan, France. 

November 6, 1919, the Social Club voted to support their war or- 
phan for another year. 

BuENA Vista Chapter of the D. A. R. 

Adopted three French orphans. Gave 100 per cent of chapter's 
part toward second liberty loan drive. Gave 100 per cent of chap- 
ter's part toward the restoration of village of Tillovoy. Entertained 
S.A.T.C, numbering 100. Gave $109.50 to the local Red Cross. 

Preparedness League of American Dentists 

The dentists of the United States formed themselves into a league 
for the purpose of free assistance to the men enlisting in the arm3^ 
They agreed to give at least one hour each day of free service, in- 
cluding materials, to help make our boys dentally fit. They performed 
more than a half million free operations. 

We quote from a letter signed by J. S. Easby-Smith, Lieutenant- 
Colonel, National Army: 

I hope that you will convey to the members of the League the as- 
surance that the value of the magnificent patriotic work it has under- 
taken and is performing is appreciated, not only by this office and by 
the War Department, but also by all our people to whom it is day 
by day becoming better kno\An. 

Buena Vista County dentists took an active part in this work. The 
following were members of the Preparedness League of American 
Dentists: Storm Lake, Dr. V. E. Herbert, Dr. E. J. Schultz, Dr. 
W. M. Storey, Dr. G. W. demons ; Sioux Rapids, Dr. F. E. Ander- 
son, Dr. Liekvold; Marathon, Dr. Heine; Newell, Dr. Nason, Dr. 
Freiberg; Alta, Dr. C. F. Sangston. 

Delphian Club of Storm Lake 

May 22, 191 8, adopted a French orphan, paying each year $36.50; 
total $27,. Gave: To furlough houses, $18; to Red Cross, $13.20; 
to hostess houses (Y.W.C.A.), $4; Council of National Defense, $1; 
total, $109.20. Made: 60 bed coats, 6 (furnished) property bags, 
36 (furnished) tea towels. 



HONOR ROLL OF BUENA VISTA COUNTY 769 

Tuesday Club of Storm Lake 

Bought one liberty bond, $50 ; hostess house, $5 ; to Council of De- 
fense, $1 ; devoted one (Tuesday) afternoon each week to Red Cross 
work; donated magazines and books to soldiers for Christmas; secured 
old clothing for refugees and poor; bought own material used in 
Red Cross work; each member gave two towels for hostess house; 
and, instead of giving flowers to our sick, money was given to Red 
Cross. 

Y. W. C. A. 

This drive was carried on just after the holidays (1918) and dur- 
ing the influenza epidemic. The towns that were able to report were : 
Alta, $97.50; Marathon, $45.77; Newell, $87.50; Storm Lake, v$6io.37. 

Thursday Afternoon Cluc of Sioux Rapids 

The following letter was written to Miss Bertha Knight of Storm 
Lake, by Emily Eade, corresponding secretary of the Thursday x\fter- 
noon Club: "Dear Miss Knight: In reply to your letter con- 
cerning war work done, the Thursday Afternoon Club gave $85 for 
camp library, $25 for furlough house in France, supported one Bel- 
gium orphan, and did sewing each week instead of study work." The 
club also sent two boxes of books to the soldiers at Camp Dodge, and 
^azines. 

Women's Federated Club of Newell 

Adopted one French orphan, collected eighty records for Camp 
Dodge; collected five sacks of magazines for the convalescent soldiers; 
made a drive for second-hand clothing for Belgian relief; had a war 
lecture by Captain McQueen. 



INDEX 



Army of the World War, the, 321 

"Audenarde," action at, 577 

American Red Cross, 646; Buena Vista 

County, 652; Junior Red Cross, 699; 

report of branches, 663 

Babies, 228 

"Bellicourt," action at, 496 

Civil War veterans, 225 
Civilian workers, 260 
"Cantigny," the action at, 438 
"Chateau Thierry," the action at, first 

phase, 441 ; second phase, 463 
"Champagne," the' action at, 452 
Council of defense, 724 

Diplomacy of the World War, 287 

Editorial foreword, 11 

First Americans in line, 424 
Financing the war, 704 
Food Administration, 728 
Farm bureau activities, 733 
Fuel Administration, Th7 

"Gold Stars," records and photographs, 

15 
Girls in war work, 258 

Honor roll of Buena Vista county, rec- 
ords and photographs, 35 
"Hindenburg Line," action at the, 502 

Italian battle front, action at, 495 



Laying the background, 275 
"Lost Battalion," the, 576 
Liberty Loans, the, 705 
Library Fund, the, 751 

"Mt. Kemmel," action at, 461 
"jMeuse-Argonne," action at. first 

phase, 504; second phase, 534; third 

phase, 555 

Navy in the war, the, 608 

"Ourcq," action at the, 459 

Photographs of general interest, 229 
Policy that failed, the, 315 

"Siberia," action in, 431 
"Soissons," action at, 455 
"St. Mihiel,' action at, 467 
Story in rhyme, 580 

Trench warfare, 435 

"Vesle river," action at the, 460 
"\^erdun," action at, 531 

World War, the, 411 

War in 1918, the, 429 

War Mothers, 756 

War Savings Stamps, 711 

War time spirit in Buena Vista county, 

645 
What constitutes a division, 594 
Women's Council of Defense, 726 



Knights of Columbus, 745 



Y. M. C. A., 739 




Treatment Date: uav 2001 

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